Need you now
by NayaFan
Summary: Prequel to 'Life with Olivia' How Santana and Quinn get together, what things were like before the Fabrays died. Rated M for future chapters. Starts at the beginning of junior year when Olivia is three.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**

**A while back, Kalexico gave me the idea to write a prequel for 'Life with Olivia' and so I figured now would be the best time to write it as I'm struggling too much with LWO.**

**This starts at the beginning of Junior year, Olivia is three at this point.**

**For K,K and H. Thanks to Kalexico too!**

Chapter 1

Santana glares at Quinn as Mr Schue stands between them, breathing heavily, suddenly aware of the huge crowd that has gathered around them, a terrified Brittany included. She shoots Quinn a filthy look, turning on her heel and storming through the crowd that seperates for her, marching straight to her locker and throwing it open. The latina is aware of Brittany's presence as she rifles through her things before slamming it closed again in frustration.

"Are you ok? Brittany asks quietly, watching the brunette warily.

"No, I'm not ok Brittany. That bitch told Coach Sylvester about my surgery just so she could get her spot back as Captain, I'm definitely not ok, I'm pissed as hell!" Santana snaps causing the tall blonde to flinch. "I'm sorry Britt, I didn't mean to take it out on you" she sighs, leaning against the row of lockers as she looks at the other girl, Brittany's demeanour instantly changing after the apology as she grins at the latina.

"It's fine, why don't you let me cheer you up" she offers and Santana can't hide the smirk that appears on her lips as she nods and takes the blonde girl's pinky. "We have to be careful though, I think Lord Tubbington has put cameras in my room again" Brittany adds cautiously.

"Sure thing B" Santana replies, used to the girl's weird comments by now. She allows the taller cheerio to lead her to the parking lot, noticing Quinn standing with an older teenager and small child. "Who's that?"

"Oh that's Quinn's little sister, she's cute. I don't know who the other girl is though, I've never seen her before. Come on, let's go before you and Quinn go all cage fighter on each other again"

0-00-0

Quinn feels a surge of guilt hit her as she watches Santana and Brittany enter the choir room, pinkies linked as usual. The latina doesn't look at her as she makes her way to the back row of chairs and slumps down in her chair, Brittany sitting next to her. Quinn wishes she could take back what she did the day before as she glances back at the other cheerios, noticing how stiffly Santana is sitting, obviously in pain after having clumsy freshman clambering on top of her for two hours the night before. She knows that apologising to the latina isn't going to be as easy as apologising to anyone else, Santana being known for holding a grudge. She sighs, smoothing down her cheerios skirt as she stands up, moving to sit beside the latina, not missing the dark look that is sent in her direction.

"I shouldn't have stabbed you in the back like that, I'm sorry" Quinn states as Santana gives her a disbelieving look, "I know you're mad at me and I wish I could take it back but I can't so all I can do is apologise" she adds, going to stand up, Santana's hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"I would have done the same thing" the latina shrugs and the blonde stays in the seat, realising that this is Santana's way of acknowledging and accepting her apology. Quinn relaxes as Mr Schue starts the lesson, Rachel soon interrupting withing a few seconds and she can't help but giggle as she hears the latina next to her start muttering under her breath of that 'damn hobbit'.

"Uh Quinn" she looks up to see Ms Pillsbury standing in the doorway with her little sister standing behind her. Quinn makes her way over to them, the little girl holding her arms out as soon she reaches them.

"What's going on?" the blonde asks, picking her sister up.

"It seems that your parents forgot to tell Olivia's childminder that they were leaving for their cruise this afternoon, she waited as long as she could but she said she was late for work and dropped Olivia off here" the guidance teacher explains and Quinn sighs as she positions the girl on her hip.

"Is everything Okay Quinn?" Mr Schue asks after catching the end of the explanation, his face growing concerned as he takes in the stressed look on his student's face while she tells him what happened. "Well it looks like we have a guest for Glee today then" he smiles genuinely. Quinn gives him a grateful smile and she walks back to her seat, ignoring all the questioning looks as she sits down with Olivia in her lap. Brittany leans across Santana to speak to Olivia.

"Hey Olivia" she grins, the small girl excitedly moving to sit on Brittany's lap and the pair chat animatedly while Santana looks on. The latina watches curiously as her best friend talks to the tiny brown eyed version of Quinn, listening as the girl asks the dancer when she will be babysitting for her again, answering the brunette's question of how they know each other.

"Who are you?" Olivia asks the latina, eyeing her warily as the rest of the glee club turn to watch the exchange, expecting the person that they view as the she devil to be mean to the child.

"I'm Santana" she states with a small smile.

"I'm Olivia" the small blonde tells her, "you're really pretty" she adds and Santana chuckles.

"You're very pretty too" she responds, shooting Olivia a wink and shocking most of the room. Santana ignores all the stares she's getting from her team-mates as Olivia leans forward to touch the latina's ponytail, running her fingers through it.

"Your hair is so soft" the child says in awe, "Feel it Brittany" she urges, grinning as Brittany does as she asks and feels Santana's silky jet black hair, tugging it playfully before leaning back in her chair. "See?" Olivia says, Brittany nodding while chuckling softly. "I like you" she states, smiling at Santana.

"I like you too kid"

**Kinda short start but I wanted to see what you guys thought about the whole idea of the prequel before I went on, worth continuing? Drop me a review if you like it :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Glee or any of the original Glee characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**

**Thank you for the reviews! I'm so glad you like the idea of the prequel :)**

**For K,K and H**

Chapter 2

Quinn lets out a sigh as she gets her things together at the end of glee club, watching an overly excited Olivia bouncing up and down on the spot as she talks to Brittany who had been supplying her with candy throughout the lesson. She throws her bag over shoulder and makes her way over to her little sister, smiling at her as she holds her hand out.

"Ready to go baby girl?" she asks.

"Brittany said she'd show me her locker" Olivia pouts, looking up at Quinn through her eye lashes. "We'll be quick" she adds.

"Alright, go on then but stay with Brittany and hold her hand, okay?" she replies, not understanding what could be so exciting about a locker.

"We'll meet you in the parking lot" Brittany states as she leads the girl out of the room. Quinn gives Santana a small smile when the latina stays with her, walking beside her as they make their way to the parking lot.

"Is everything alright?" Santana asks quietly and the blonde shakes her head with a sigh.

"My Mom and Dad are on some jesus booze cruise, they forgot to tell 'Liv's childminder. I should be used to it by now" she states, shaking her head. "I don't know how I'm gonna cope with looking after Olivia for a week, she's like..bipolar or something at times, she had a tantrum when a tv show went on a commercial break last week, she thought it was my fault" Quinn rolls her eyes when she hears Santana chuckle. "Yeah, of course you find the devil child amusing" she smirks.

"She's like the cutest kid on the planet, I bet even her tantrums are adorable and funny" Santana defends with a laugh.

"Yeah, they kind of are" Quinn says.

"You know, My mom always makes too much food if you maybe want to come over, its got to be better than you and the kid being on your own. Plus, you know Britt will be thrilled to spend some time with her" the latina shrugs and Quinn smiles at her, nodding.

0-00-0

Quinn smiles softly as she watches Olivia whispering to Santana, the usually scowling Latina chuckling at whatever the little girl on her knee is saying. She accepts a mug of hot chocolate from Brittany as the taller blonde sits next to her on the sofa. They both look on Santana tickles Olivia's sides, eliciting a squeal from the girl.

"She's good with kids" Brittany murmurs to Quinn, keeping her gaze locked on the brunette with a tender smile gracing her features. "I know she can be kinda mean but she's like a different person around kids, like she's happier around them" Quinn nods, glancing at her friend and noticing the slightly sad expression that takes over the dancer's face.

"Are you alright Britt?" Quinn asks in concern and bright blue eyes meet her hazel ones.

I just don't want to hurt her" the taller blonde states simply and Quinn can guess what she means, the whole Glee club know that Santana and Brittany were more than just friends. "She's a good person, she's always looked out for me and her sweet lady kisses are the best, not forgetting how flexible..."

"I get it" Quinn interrupts, "I don't need details Britt" The other girl giggles quietly and nods.

"I love her with all my heart but I'm not in love with her" the dancer sighs sadly, Quinn reaching out to grasp her shoulder in sympathy.

"You need to tell her that" the smaller blonde murmurs, "It's not fair to either of you to keep this a secret" Santana glances over at the two blonde's on the sofa, wondering what they are talking about as her mother enters the livingroom to inform them that dinner is almost ready. Maria smiles at the sight of her daughter entertaining Olivia. Santana smiles back at the older Latina, her face falling slightly as she glances back at the blonde's, noticing Brittany's sad eyes look away from her as soon as the dancer realises Santana is looking.

"Brittany looks sad" Olivia states, looking up at the latina with wide eyes.

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure she's fine" Santana replies, convincing the child but not herself. She smiles down at the tiny blonde to reassure her. "How about we go get the best seats at the table?" she asks, chuckling at the eager nod she receives from the three year old. The latina motions to Quinn that they're heading to the dining room before standing up with Olivia still in her arms and walking out of the livingroom, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.

0-0-0-0

Quinn can feel the tension rising in the dining room as Brittany purposely avoids eye contact with Santana while picking at her food. She smiles politely as Santana's parents excuse themselves from the room to do the washing up.

"You okay Britt?" Santana asks quietly, frowning when the only response is a small nod and a murmur about needing to talk later.

"Uh I guess we'd better get going" Quinn states, nodding her head towards Olivia who is almost falling asleep in her chair. "Thank you for tonight San, I really appreciate it" she adds with a warm smile.

"It's no problem" the latina replies just as warmly, "I'll get her" she adds, standing up and picking the half asleep child up, unable to keep the grin from tugging at her lips when Olivia lays her head on Santana's shoulder. They walk out to Quinn's car in silence, Santana gently placing the now fast asleep Olivia into her car seat and strapping her in before straightening back up to look at her friend. "I'm not going to like what Brittany has to say am I?" she asks softly.

"Whatever she says, you'll be alright. I know we've had our problems recently but you're still my best friend, call me if you need to" Quinn replies, pulling a surprised Santana into a tight hug, the latina stiffening for a second before eventually relaxing into the hug.

"Thanks" she murmurs into Quinn's shoulder, "And if you need any help with the kid then you know where I am" she adds shyly as she pulls out of the hug.

**Let me know what you think, I'll do my best to get back to all of your reviews and to make the chapters a little longer. Thanks for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Glee or any of the characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**

**Thank you so much for the kind reviews, I majorly appreciate them. Sorry to the people I haven't had time to get back to yet, I will make the effort to get to all of you once everything calms down here. :)**

Chapter 3

Santana leads Brittany into her bedroom, slumping down onto her bed and motioning for the blonde to join her, glad when Brittany does so. She glances at the other cheerio nervously, already having a good idea about what this conversation is going to be about. Brittany lets out a long sigh as she sits down on the bed, maintaining a small distance between them. Blue eyes meet dark brown and Santana can see the regret in her best friend's gaze, knowing that her instincts are right.

"You don't want to be with me" it isn't a question.

"I love you so much San, It's just I don't love you like that. I love you as my best friend, like a sister" Brittany's words pierce the brunette's heart like a dagger and the blonde feels her own heart shatter at the look of dispair that crosses the tanned girl's exotic features. "I'm sorry, I needed to tell you now...it would only have hurt more if I waited" The latina nods in agreement, swallowing the lump that's rising in her throat and blinking back tears that are fighting to break free.

"I get it" she murmurs, looking away from Brittany, choosing to stare at a blank space on her bedroom wall.

"I'm sorry" the dancer tells her again, kissing her lightly on the cheek and standing up, giving the latina one last apologetic look before leaving her alone in her bedroom. Santana listens as her friend bids goodnight to her parents, hearing the front door close behind her and the thrum of her car pulling out of their driveway. Crawling further onto her bed, the latina buries her face in the pillows, the sobs that she had held back wracking through her body and ripping from her throat. Her muffled cries begin to subside after a while and she flips onto her back, ignoring the salty mascara stains on her pillow and glaring at the ceiling. Her cell phone beeps and she reads the message from Quinn inviting her over for dinner tomorrow night. The text claims that the hazel eyed girl is merely returning the favour but Santana knows differently, Brittany has obviously told their mutual friend that she has gone through with it. Normally, the latina would hate that someone else had been included in her buisness but she can't help the appreciation she feels towards Quinn, knowing the concern is sincere.

0-00-0

Quinn lets out an unladylike grunt as she feels something hard hit her stomach. She swipes at the offending elbow, cracking her hazel eyes open to find huge brown ones staring back at her. She chuckles at the child's messy hair, pulling her under the duvet, eliciting a giggle from Olivia. Quinn grins at her sleepily and snuggles into her, desperate to go back to sleep.

"You gots to get up Quinn, there's somebody at the door" Olivia states, wriggling out of her sister's arms. "See!" she exclaims as the visitor knocks again.

"Alright, I'm going" Quinn groans, getting out of her warm bed, picking Olivia up and sitting the girl on her hip as she makes her way downstairs. She unlocks the door and pulls it open, revealing a tired sad looking Santana.

"Sorry, I know it's early, I just couldn't lay in bed awake anymore. I didn't know where else to go" Santana states sadly.

"No, it's fine" Quinn smiles, ushering the Latina into the house and into the kitchen and placing Olivia down on a chair, shaking her head in amusement when the tiny girl clambers onto Santana's knee as soon as the tanned girl sits down. "Are you okay?" she asks, turning the coffee machine on and turning to face her friend in concern.

"I just need to not think about it for a little while" Santana replies, smiling softly at the little girl staring up at her. "I don't think I'm gonna go to school today" she adds and Quinn nods in understanding.

"Can I stay with Santana today?" Olivia asks excitedly, looking between the two teenager with wide eyes. "I don't wanna go to the childminders, I'll be good I swear!" Quinn sends an apologetic look in the latina's direction before turning her attention to her little sister, trying to ignore the puppy dog look she's receiving.

"'Liv, remember what we spoke about, you can't ask things like that in front of people, it puts them in a position where they don't know what to say, remember?" Quinn gently scolds, feeling bad at the pout on Olivia's face.

"I'm sorry Santana" the girl tells the latina who chuckles and looks up at the older blonde with a nod and a smile.

"Are you sure?" Quinn asks, raising her eyebrows in surprise when Santana nods again. "Ok then 'Liv you can stay with Santana but you have to be on your best behaviour" Olivia nods excitedly, causing both teenagers to grin. "Well why don't you go watch some cartoons until breakfast is ready" she suggests, watching as Olivia climbs down from the brunette's lap and skips through to the livingroom. "Are you really sure?" Quinn asks again.

cry" the latina replies with a dry chuckle. "Seriously though, we'll be fine, well as long as we can hang here, my mom will ask a lot of questions if she sees I'm not at school"

"Yeah, of course. All of Olivia's toys are here anyway and there's plenty in the fridge and I'm sure she will introduce you to her huge collection of Disney movies" Quinn laughs, turning to pour coffee into two mugs, handing one to her friend and sitting down next to her with her own mug. Quinn loves the fact that she and Santana are friends again, despite the unfortunate circumstances that brought her to the house this morning. She missed out on a lot when she was pregnant with Beth last year, it's nice to be finally catching up.

**I know it's short but I wanted to get this chapter out of the way to set up for the next one, drop me a review to let me know what you think. Next chapter is Olivia and Santana's day together.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Glee or any of the characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own inventions.**

**I'm sorry about the huge delay for this chapter, I haven't been writing as much as I usually do. If the wait hasn't put you off, let me know and I promise to work much more on this fic.**

**R&R please :)**

Chapter 4

Santana smiles at the little girl in her arms as her small hand frantically waves goodbye to Quinn, not stopping until her big sister's car is almost out of sight. The latina chuckles as Olivia wriggles out of her arms, running towards the livingroom and throwing herself onto the sofa with a giggle. The tiny blonde pushes herself into a sitting position and pats the space next to her, signalling for Santana to join her, grinning when the latina complies.

"So, what do you want to do today pretty girl?" the latina asks kindly, smiling down at the mini version of Quinn on the sofa next to her. Olivia cutely wrinkles her nose as she thinks, finally shrugging with a pout on her face.

"I don't know" she murmurs.

"What do you normally do when your Mommy and Daddy are here?" Santana presses patiently, brushing strand of blonde hair from the girl's face.

"I watch tv quietly, Daddy says I have to be quiet when he's in his office, he gets really mad when I make lots of noise" Olivia says sadly. Santana feels her heart break at the pout on the little girl's features.

"Well, your Mommy and Daddy are on vacation so you can make as much noise as you like today" the latina smiles, "We can do whatever you want to do today" Olivia's face lights up as she throws herself onto Santana, hugging her as tightly as her little arms allow. "So, why don't we go outside and play on your swingset?" she suggests, grabbing Olivia and standing up with her, slinging her over her shoulder and making the three year old squeal and giggle. Santana keeps one arm firmly wrapped around Olivia's legs as she moves into the hall, locking the front door before walking into the kitchen and looking around for the key to the back door. "Where's the key little one?"

"It's on the high hook, Quinn put it there" Olivia replies as she tries to wriggle out of Santana's grasp, still giggling. The latina moves the girl to sit on her hip as she grabs the key and puts it into the lock before sitting the small blonde on the worktop and picks up the tiny pair of sneakers that are beside the door.

"Can't go outside in your socks, can you?" Santana grins as she slips the sneakers onto the girl's feet and pulls the velcro across. "All set" she smiles, lifting her from the work-top and setting her on her feet, unlocking the back door and shaking her head in amusement as Olivia sprints out as soon as the door is open. The little girl jumps onto her swing, waiting patiently for Santana who jogs over to her and starts gently pushing the swing back and forth. "So are you having a good time hanging out with Quinn this week?" the latina asks.

"Yeah! Quinn's awesome" Olivia exclaims, "She's super nice, just like you" she adds and Santana laughs. "She's pretty too, don't you think she's pretty Santana?"

"Yeah she's very pretty" Santana laughs. "Are you trying to set me up kid?" she jokes, eyebrows shooting to the sky at Olivia's vigorous nod.

"You're nicer than Finn. He didn't like me" the small blonde pouts, jumping off the swing while it's still in the air and almost giving her babysitter a heart attack. "You're it!" she squeals, tapping Santana's hip and taking off to the other side of the garden, the raven haired teen staring at her in disbelief, shocked at how quickly her mood changed.

0-00-0

Quinn smiles as she enters the livingroom to find Santana passed out on the sofa, a sound asleep Olivia sprawled on top of her as a cartoon plays quietly on the tv. The older blonde gently lifts her little sister off of Santana and quietly sneaks from the room, Olivia murmuring in her sleep and snuggling into Quinn's chest. The teenager almost cheers when she succeeds at placing the toddler into her bed without waking her, smiling down at her peaceful face for a few seconds and tip toeing from the room. She sends a quick text message from Santana's phone to the latina's mother when she gets back downstairs, telling the older Lopez that her daughter had come home from school with her and would be staying for dinner. Santana jerks awake, looking around for Olivia, sighing in relief when she spots Quinn standing there.

"Sorry, i didn't mean to wake you" Quinn tells her softly, "I was just texting your Mom to tell her that you were having dinner with us"

"You don't have to do that" Santana responds, her voice still thick with sleep as she rubs her eyes.

"It's the least I could do, I'm gonna make coffee. Come through whenever you're ready" Quinn smiles, turning on her heel and walking to the kitchen, Santana's dark eyes automatically locking onto the blonde's backside, smirking in appreciation of the view before shaking her head and mentally scolding herself for looking at her friend in that way. Pushing raven hair from her face, she stands up and stretches before following the other teenager into the kitchen. "How was she?"

"She was awesome, tired herself out as well as me" Santana chuckles, slumping down into one of the chairs at the kitchen table with a yawn. "How was school?"

"Same old, same old" Quinn sighs, leaning against the worktop. "Are you coming tomorrow?" she asks, smiling softly when Santana nods. "At least we have Glee club tomorrow, you can yell insults at Berry to make yourself feel better" the blonde adds with a smirk. "Although it'll need to be child friendly insults since Olivia is going to be there" she finishes, happy when a genuine smile that reaches her dark eyes spreads across the latina's features. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I actually am. You and that sister of yours have a gift for cheering people up" Santana smiles, feeling her stomach flutter as her eyes lock with her friend's brilliant hazel ones. "Must be a Fabray thing, they love me" the latina teases with a wink.

"That must be it" Quinn laughs, rolling her eyes. "Seriously though, you know where I am if you need anything"

"Same thing goes for you Q, even if it's just something like helping with Olivia" Quinn nods, turning away from her friend to pour two mugs of coffee. Sitting opposite the latina, the blonde feels herself blush when their hands graze while she passes Santana's coffee to her. She avoids looking at her, unaware that the other teenager is doing the exact same thing.

**Let me know what you think. Things will start to progress between Quinn and Santana in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you all so much for the reviews and for the sudden rush of people putting this on alert in the last few hours, not sure why but I appreciate it anyway!**_

_**R&R please :)**_

Chapter 5

Santana grins as she enters the choir room to find Olivia waiting by the door for her, the tiny girl immediately latching onto her, hugging her legs. The latina notices the shock on Rachel and Kurt's face when she picks the mini Quinn up, kissing her cheek. She feels Olivia's little arms wrap around her neck and her head laying down on her shoulder, a huge yawn escaping her lips.

"You're a sleepy girl today, huh?" Santana states in amusement as she walks across the choir room to sit down in the back row of chairs next to Quinn. "Hey" she smiles, Quinn looking up from her cell phone long enough to flash her a smile. Santana studies the blonde's face, her own frown forming when she notices Quinn's frown. "Everything Ok?" she asks her.

"There's a lot of stuff going on at home right now, it took my mom and dad a whole two days to get into a fight once they've got back from the cruise. My Mom went to stay with her sister last night and my dad spent most of the night smashing up his office" Quinn tells her friend quietly.

"That explains this one" Santana remarks, her eyes flitting down to the now sleeping three year old in her lap. Her gaze falls onto a purple bruise on Quinn's wrist, her temper instantly flaring. "Did your Dad do that?" the latina demands in a hushed, angry tone.

"I tried to take his drink away from him, he grabbed my wrist a little too hard by accident" Quinn replies, pulling the sleeve of her letterman jacket further down her arm to hide the ugly mark. "Don't worry, 'Liv's fine" she quickly adds, anticipating the latina's question, noticing the relief on Santana's face. "I know this is a lot to ask and I'm only asking because tomorrow's Saturday and we don't have school tomorrow but do you think Olivia could stay with you tonight? I want to give my dad some time to cool off and I don't want her at the motel with me" the blonde murmurs.

"The motel? No, you're not staying at a motel. You can both crash at mine" Santana says, "No arguing" she adds when Quinn opens her mouth, the blonde's jaw snapping closed again, Santana smiling smugly. "Are you ok though?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm good. I really appreciate this" the latina waves off her friend's words, winking at her before turning her attention to Mr Schue as the teacher begins to speak.

0-00-0

Santana leans against the doorframe as Quinn helps Olivia climb into the latina's double bed. After much argument, the brunette had managed to convince the blonde that there was enough room for them all to share her bed and that there is no reason for anyone to sleep on the sofa. She smiles softly as she watches the adorable scene in front of her, Quinn murmuring softly to her little sister as she strokes silky strands of golden hair out of the girl's eyes. Her smile widens as Olivia looks over at her, holding her arms out, signalling for a hug. The Latina moves across the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning down to hug the child.

"Goodnight pretty girl" Santana murmurs, her heart warming as the sisters exchange 'I love you's' before Quinn straightens up and the two teenagers quietly leave the room.  
>"Does your dad know you guys are here?" Santana asks as they make their way downstairs.<p>

"Yeah, he pretty much told he doesn't give a rat's ass" Quinn sighs in response and the latina's brow furrows, wondering how on earth someone with kids like Olivia and Quinn couldn't care all that much about them. "It's fine, once my Mom comes back they'll be all loved up and nice again, for a little while anyway" the blonde adds as she follows her friend into the kitchen. "Where are your parents tonight?"

"Some charity event or something, they'll be home pretty late. You want some coffee?" Santana asks, turning to the machine when Quinn nods. Once the coffee is made, they sit at the table in silence, the awkward moment that they shared last week making a comeback now that they're alone. Dark brown eyes meet startling hazel and for a second the elcectricity flies, both girls unable to look away. Quinn is shocked when Santana leans across the table, pressing a soft kiss to the blonde's pink lips, lingering for only a moment before the latina jumps backward, her eyes wild. "Shit, I'm sorry...I just...I'm sorry. I'll uh..go see what movies are on TV tonight" Santana says quickly, almosy falling over her chair in her rush to leave the kitchen, leaving a surprised Quinn on her own.

"Santana, wait" Quinn calls after her, pushing her chair out from underneath the table and following the latina into the livingroom, finding her pacing the room and muttering in spanish to herself. "San.." The hispanic teen spins around to face her friend, nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I thought there was like a moment between us and I just...kissed you" Santana finishes lamely.

"It's okay"

"No, it's not, You're my friend and straight and.." the latina's rant is cut short when Quinn moves forward, capturing the pouty lips with her own, her pale hands rising to cup Santana's tanned face. The blonde smiles as she feels the other girl start to kiss her back, feels her arms snake around her waist, her tongue slipping into her mouth. Their kiss ends organically, the girls resting their foreheads together and gazing into each others eyes. "You're not completely straight" Santana amends in a dazed voice and Quinn giggles the most adorable giggle the latina thinks she has ever heard. "Can I buy you dinner?" Santana asks, a small blush spreadin on her face, disproving her past claims that latin women don't blush.

"Sure" Quinn replies teasingly, pressing another quick peck to the other girl's lips.

**I know this is short but so are all my chapters ;) Drop me a review to let me know what you think :)**


	6. Chapter 6

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you all so much for the reviews, I really appreciate it and will work harder to get back to all of you. R&R please :)**_

Chapter 6

Santana hears the excited yell seconds before she feels Olivia's small body collide with hers, causing her to groan as the girl's knee slams into her stomach. The child giggles as she almost rolls off the bed, Santana only just managing to grab her in time.

"Good morning to you too" the latina tells her.

"Hi! Quinn said to wake you for breakfast" Olivia announces, still sitting on Santana's stomach. "You breathe really loud when you're sleeping" she adds.

"Yeah? Well you talk in your sleep" the latina counters, gently moving Olivia from her stomach so that she can sit up. The tiny blonde literally jumps into her arms once Santana stands up and the teenager sits her on her hip as she makes her way downstairs. She smiles as the smell of burnt toast fills her nose and she isn't all that surprised, Quinn never has been a good cook, not in all the time Santana has known her. "Hey" the latina smiles as she and Olivia walk in the kitchen, surprised to see three plates off waffles and bacon already on the table.

"Goodmorning" Quinn smiles, "I wanted to do something nice to thank you for letting us stay here last night,almost perfect" she says, gesturing to the burnt toast.

"Looks perfect to me" Santana shrugs, smiling. "You didn't have to do that but thank you" she adds, setting Olivia down on one of the kitchen chairs and smiling gratefully as Quinn hands her a cup of coffee and she sits down next to the kid. The kitchen is blanketed in a comfortable silence as they eat their breakfast, it only being broken by Olivia saying that she'd rather that Santana cut her food for her, the Latina happily obliging while Quinn watched with a smile. She knows that her little sister is becoming extremely attached to Santana and hopes that their future date doesn't mess up the friendship that she and the Latina had only just repaired.

"Can I watch tv?" Olivia asks, flashing her sister a pleading look.

"You can watch tv later honey, you need to finish your breakfast first" Quinn replies.

"But I want to watch tv" the girl pouts, "Santana, can I watch tv?" The latina's eyebrows raise in surprise as she looks down at the kid beside her.

"I think you should listen to your sister" the teenagers tells her softly, Olivia pouting at the response.

"I thought you were my friend" the girl whispers, her bottom lip trembling.

"I am your friend, pretty girl" Santana tells her kindly, brushing the girl's silky blonde hair away from her face with her hand. "You're a good girl and good girls always listen to what their big sister tells them, don't they?" The Latina smiles when Olivia nods, Quinn shooting her a grateful smile as her sister continues eating her breakfast. They look up as Santana's father enters the kitchen, whistling a tune that neither teenager can place.

"Morning girls" Carlos smiles as he pours coffee into his flask.

"You like Spongebob?" Olivia asks him excitedly.

"I do" the man replies with a wink.

"I made extra food" Quinn tells him and he smiles.

"No thank you Quinn, I have to get to work, rain check though" Carlos smiles, pressing a kiss to Santana's forehead. "Enjoy your day ladies. Santana, your mother left early this morning and she asked me to remind you that she'll be home late" he adds, leaving the room. They finish breakfast in silence, brown eyes occasionally meeting hazel, the teenagers sharing shy smiles as they eat.

"Can I watch tv now please?" Olivia asks, pushing her plate away from her and jumping down from her chair.

"Yeah, go on then" Quinn sighs, knowing stopping her would just cause the girl to have a tantrum, something she isn't in the mood to deal with this morning.

"Are you guys staying here tonight?" Santana asks as she too pushes her empty plate away from her.

"We've already put you out enough" Quinn tells her.

"You're not putting anyone out plus I'd really like it if you did stay. I called Tina and she's coming over to look after Olivia while I take you to dinner" the Latina states. "Unless you don't want to" she quickly adds nervously.

"No, I do. I was just worried that you had changed your mind" Quinn tells her, "I really do want to" she says and Santana grins at her.

0-00-0

Quinn sighs as she looks into the bathroom mirror, struggling to get her hair to go in a way she likes. Giving up and deciding to leave it down, she grabs Santana's straighteners from the shelf and plugs them in, checking her make-up as she waits. She checks her outfit, a white casual dress and a pair of flats, dress casually Santana had told her and she wonders where the latina is taking her. Her stomach flutters with nerves and she scolds herself, it's Santana she reminds herself, she's spent time with the latina plenty of times, why is she so nervous about going to dinner with her. Just because they kissed, it shouldn't make things so different. Quinn tries to shake her nerves as she starts to flat iron her hair, smiling at Olivia when the little girl appears in the doorway.

"How come I have to stay with Tina?" she asks curiously.

"Because me and Santana are going out for some big girl time" Quinn tells her gently, "But you like Tina don't you? She's been at the house lots of times" she adds, hearing the doorbell ring.

"But I like Santana better. I want to come, she's my friend too" Olivia pouts and Quinn kneels down in front of her.

"I know she is and you can hang out with her another time" the older blonde tells her as her little sister's eyes fill with tears. She looks up as Santana enters the bathroom, dressed in black skin tight jeans and a tank top, her black hair falling in natural waves around her shoulders.

"Hey, Tina's here. Everything alright?" the latina asks, noticing Olivia's tears.

"She's feeling a little left out" Quinn states, using her thumb to wipe a stray tear from her sister's face. Santana bends down to Olivia's level, smiling at her.

"Hey pretty girl. I know you're sad that you can't come with us but how about me and you go to the park in the morning, just us two" the latina suggests, Olivia's face lighting up.

"Really?" the girl asks, Santana nodding and holding her arms open for a hug, laughing when the three year launches herself at her.

"So why don't you go say hi to Tina and we'll be down in a minute" the latina says, Olivia nodding and running out of the bathroom. "She'll be fine once we're gone, Girl Chang is cool. You look beautiful by the way" she states, noticing the faint blush that spreads on the blonde's face. "I just need to find some shoes and I'll be ready" Santana tells her as she leaves the room, leaving Quinn with a goofy smile on her face.

**Let me know what you think :) Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you so much for all the interest in this story, I know I'm a complete broken record but I apologise for the huge wait with this chapter. Hopefully it's worth the wait.**_

_**R&R please :)**_

Chapter 7

Quinn can't stop the goofy grin that tugs at her mouth when Santana slips her warm hand into hers as they leave the movie theatre. She isn't surprised that the Latina took her to see a horror movie, the smirk on Santana's face when she had held onto her during a terrifying part tells the blonde that the choice of movie had been on purpose.

"I had fun tonight, you didn't have to pay for everything though" Quinn states.

"I didn't ask you out on a date just to have you pay" Santana responds with a smile.

"Well thank you" the blonde grins, leaning over to kiss the raven haired girl's cheek.

"You're welcome" the Latina says, a small blush seeping across her face from the moment Quinn's lips touched her face. She notices the look of amusement on the other girl's face, the blonde noticing her blush but choosing not to say anything about it. "Do you think Olivia has run rings around Tina all night?" Santana asks, deflecting the attention away from her flushed cheeks.

"Yeah, most likely. She likes to take advantage of how cute people find her and she knows that she'll get away with murder" Quinn laughs.

"She didn't try anything like that with me" Santana states, "Don't get me wrong, her energy levels were like scary high but she listened to me" the latina adds.

"Well she clearly worships the ground you walk on" the blonde jokes. "I guess she has good taste" she adds with a wink, causing the latina's blush to deepen. Santana curses herself, No-one made Santana Lopez blush, well apart from Quinn Fabray it seems. "Seriously though, you're really good with her and she obviously loves spending time with you"

"She's a good kid" the latina shrugs as they reach her car, Santana smirking as she opens the passenger door for Quinn.

"Why thank you kind lady" the blonde jokes, sliding into the car and the other teenager closes the door, walking around to the driver's side. "I'm really glad we did this" Quinn states with a smile as Santana gets into the car.

"Me too" the raven haired girl winks.

0-00-0

Santana struggles to hide her smirk as she opens the door to the house to reveal an exhausted looking Tina waiting for them, the latina looking around the livingroom and noting with relief that nothing is wrecked and the room still looks relatively tidy.

"She's cute but the next time you guys want to go on a date, you can find someone else to babysit for her" the asian girl states firmly, "She's clearly been spending far too much time with you" she adds, looking at Santana.

"She's three, practically still a baby. How bad could it have been?" the latina scoffs, Quinn nudging her with her elbow and signalling for her to not make the situation worse.

"What happened?" The blonde asks warily, setting her purse down on the couch and sighing as she hears a giggle coming from upstairs, despite it being almost eleven and well passed Olivia's bedtime.

"She refused to listen to anything I said and I'm pretty sure she took something from the kitchen, she had her hands behind her back and then she wouldn't come out from underneath Santana's bed" Tina groans.

"Alright, why don't I go see what the munchkin is up to while you drive Tina home" Santana suggests to Quinn, her dark eyes twinkling in amusement as she holds out her carkeys to the blonde.

"Alright, see you soon" Quinn responds, rolling her eyes at the latina as she leads Tina out of the house. Santana chuckles as she walks upstairs, poking her head into the other rooms as she heads to hers just to ensure the girl isn't in any of them. She stops in the doorway to her bedroom, her eyes going wide when she finds Olivia bouncing up and down on the bed with chocolate all over her face.

"Hey hey. Stop that!" Santana exclaims, approaching the bed as Olivia suddenly stops bouncing, her brown eyes wide and her bottom lip sticking out. "You could hurt yourself" the latina adds in a softer tone, realising she probably scared her. "You found the chocolate spread, huh?" she states, lifting Olivia from the bed and setting her back on her feet.

"Are you mad?" Olivia asks softly, her eyes pleading with the teenager as she plays with a loose thread on her t'shirt.

"No" the latina sighs, kneeling down to the little girl's eye level and playfully tapping her nose. "But I think Quinn will be a little upset that you weren't a good girl with Tina after promising her that you would be so I think it'd be a good idea if we got you ready for bed before she comes back, yeah?" Olivia nods, her pout disappearing. "Good girl" Santana grins.

0-00-0

Quinn sighs as she climbs the stairs of Santana's house, suddenly feeling tired after spending ten minutes in the company of a grumpy Tina who had felt the need to reiterate several times that she would never babysit Olivia ever again without someone else being there. She follows Santana and Olivia's voices to the bathroom and leans against the doorframe as the latina helps the tiny blonde out of the tub, wrapping her in a huge towel.

"Hey" Santana smiles, "Tina get home alright?" she asks.

"Yeah but I think I can erase her from my choice of babysitters if we ever want to go out again when my parents aren't here" Quinn replies with a frown, noticing her little sister watching her warily. "And you, young lady, owe Tina a big apology the next time you see here" she tells the girl. Quinn feels herself melt at the sad expression on her little sister's face and she steps forward and lifts her from Santana's arms. "Do you know why you have to say sorry?" she asks gently.

"Because I'm bad" Olivia whispers.

"You're not bad, baby girl. You misbehaved, that doesn't mean that you're bad. You listened to Santana when she looked after you so you should have listened to Tina, alright?" Quinn murmurs, gently moving a strand of damp blonde hair away from the girl's face and smiling when she nods. "So you'll say sorry to Tina when you see her?"

"I promise" Olivia says seriously, both teenagers grinning at how adorable she looks when she's being serious. Santana motions to the older blonde to tell her that she's heading downstairs, Quinn nodding and smiling at her when the latina mouths the words 'hot chocolate' to her before disappearing from the bathroom. "Can we stay with Santana all the time?" Olivia asks as her big sister carries her into the bedroom.

"Well baby girl, Mommy and Daddy would miss us if we stayed here all the time but we can still visit her all the time" Quinn promises.

"She's nicer than Finn, Finn made you cry" Olivia says sadly. "Santana wouldn't make you cry" she adds innocently, her small fingers playing with the older girl's hair. "She's prettier than Finn too"

"Yeah she definitely is" Quinn smiles.

_**Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading :)**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of the amazing reviews, 100 reviews for this already is both insane and awesome!**_

_**I know some people are worried about Olivia's abuse that is mentioned in 'Life with Olivia' but it won't be mentioned in this as Quinn and Santana didn't know about it so don't worry :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 8

Quinn smiles as she sits on the edge of Santana's bed, listening to the steady breathing of her little sister and gently stroking her brow. She hears movement behind her and she keeps her back to them, waiting until she hears her parents' bedroom door close before she stands up. Bending down, she presses one last kiss to Olivia's forehead, switches the night light on and quietly walks from the room. Lingering in the hall for a moment, she can hear the clinking of glasses coming from her father's study, followed by several male voices and she breathes a small sigh of relief. There was only a reason to worry if he was drinking alone. Her cellphone vibrates in her pocket and she smiles when she reads Santana's name on the screen.

_'How are things? S.x _

_'They're fine, Olivia missed you at bedtime though, so did I' _

_'I miss you guys too, the house is far too quiet. How about I treat you both to breakfast tomorrow?' S.x _

_'That sounds great :) See you tomorrow' _

_'Awesome! Will pick you up at 7:30. Goodnight beautiful. S.x'_ Quinn smiles at the last text message, so glad that she gets to see the sweet side of Santana. She fires back a quick goodnight and sets her cell phone on the bedside cabinet before changing for bed, hearing the tell-tale squeak of Olivia's bedroom door.

"Quinn, can I sleep with you?" the little girl asks sleepily. The older blonde sighs, usually she'd be firm about Olivia sleeping in her own bed but tonight, she's just far too tired to deal with a tantrum, especially when their parents are home.

"Sure baby girl, just this once though" she tells Olivia, lifting her into bed and climbing off behind her. The girl whimpers as her sister switches the lamp off, burrowing deeper into Quinn's arms. "It's okay baby girl, I'm right here" the teenager murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to the toddler's hair. She doesn't really mind that Olivia came to her, knowing if the girl went to their mother she'd just be sent back to her own bed, most likely in tears. It was the same when she was a little girl, her parents realised pretty quickly that they had no interest in spending time with their child and Quinn is pretty sure that Olivia only exists because they thought abortion was a sin.

0-00-0

Santana gets out of the car as Quinn and Olivia come out of the house, the little girl wrenching her hand from her big sister's and running straight to the latina and jumping into her arms. Santana grins at her and kisses her cheek before placing her back on her feet and taking the tiny girl's carseat from her girlfriend and giving her a one armed hug, wishing she could kiss her in greeting but well aware of the consequences of the Fabrays finding out about their relationship.

"Goodmorning" Quinn smiles, "Thank you for picking us up" she adds as Santana places the car-seat in the backseat of her car.

"No problem" the latina states. "I'm just happy to see my two favourite Fabrays" she grins, picking Olivia up and strapping her into the car-seat.

"Do you know lots of Fabrays?" Olivia asks innocently.

"Only two that matter" the latina assures her as she climbs into the driver's seat. "So I was thinking of going to the diner behind the park, that sound okay?"

"Yeah, wherever you like" Quinn tells her, noticing her Mother standing at her bedroom window as Santana backs out of the driveway, too far awway to read her expression but assuming there's a scowl in place. She wonders if her Mother has any idea of her new relationship with Santana, knowing from past racist remarks that it wouldn't just be the female part of the latina that Judy Fabray would disapprove of. The blonde knows that it isn't a good idea for Olivia to know that their relationship is more than just a good friendship, the little girl would most likely accidentally tell their parents. Quinn remembers Santana mentioning that the Lopez family had extremely old fashioned beliefs, one of the reasons she had never told her parents about her relationship with Brittany.

"Q, are you alright?" Santana asks quietly, glancing at the blonde with concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about stuff, stuff that I can't mention just now" Quinn replies, nodding her head in the direction of Olivia in the back seat.

"Gotcha. Well I don't exactly need spanish class so I'm okay with being late if you are" Santana suggests, "We can talk after we drop Olivia off at her childminders" she adds quietly, knowing Olivia would just get upset if she knew they weren't going straight to school, instead choosing to spend a little time without her.

"Yeah, that sounds good, I have gym first and it's not as if I actually do anything when I go" Quinn chuckles.

"Radio please" Olivia yells from the backseat causing Santana to laugh and turn the radio on, taking the hint that their adult talk is much too boring for Olivia. The two teenagers listen with smiles on their faces as the tiny girl sings along to the music, seemingly trying to have a little boogie in her seat.

"It should be illegal for anyone to be that adorable" Santana remarks, glancing at the toddler through the rearview mirror. "My cell is the glove compartment, can you take a picture for me, I promised my brother I'd let him see her" she adds.

"Sure" Quinn smiles, reaching into the glove compartment, pulling out the latina's cell and turning in her seat to snap a picture of the oblivious child. "How's Adam doing? I haven't seem him in years"

"He's good, he spends a lot of time travelling which, of course, annoys my parents but he's happy. He says he'll be back next year but I'm not getting my hopes up, he gets caught up in the cultures of places and forgets about Lima" the latina chuckles.

"You're ruining the song" Olivia tells them with frown, tired with them talking over the radio.

_**Let me know what you think :) Thank you for reading.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations**_

_**Thank you so much for all the support for this story, there's only roughly four or five chapters left so I hope you all stick around :)**_

_**R&R please**_

Chapter 9

Santana sighs as she slumps down onto the sofa with yet another beer in her hand, switching the Tv on and surfing through the channels to find something remotely interesting to watch. She rolls her eyes when she notices 'Funny girl' and immediately skips to the next channel, after Berry forced them all to watch it in glee club a few days ago she's definitely not ready to watch it again..not for a few years at least. It's just typical, the one night Santana doesn't get to hang out with her girlfriend is the one night her parents decide to go away for a romantic break. Now she gets to sit here, on a Friday night, sucking back her father's beers and watching lame-ass tv while even her parents get ot have fun and relax. The latina looks out of the window when she hears a car pull into her drive-way and her face splits into a grin when she sees that it's Quinn, Santana almost sprinting to the front door and only just reminding herself to be cool as she pulls open the front door.

"Hi" she grins, pulling Quinn to her and pressing their lips together.

"That was a nice welcome" the blonde smiles as Santana leads her by the hand into the livingroom, "Are you on your own?" she asks.

"Yeah, my Mom and Dad decided to go have some couple time" the latina responds, screwing her face up in disgust at her choice of words. "Where's munchkin?" she asks as she sits back down on the sofa, picking her beer up from the coffee table.

"She's with my Mom, apparently Judy Fabray can be sober. Her and Olivia spent the whole day together at the park and Olivia is now tucked up in bed with my Mom reading a story together" Quinn explains with a soft smile.

"That's unexpected" Santana comments, sipping her beer and pouting when Quinn pulls it from her hand. "And it's awesome" she adds, hoping this is the response her girlfriend is looking for, meaning she'd get her beer back, sighing when the blonde places the bottle onto the coffee table. Quinn chuckles quietly and climbs onto the sofa, straddling the latina's lap.

"It is awesome and do you know why? Because we finally get to have some time to ourselves" Quinn murmurs, placing kisses along Santana's jaw before pressing her lips against the latina's full ones and languidly kissing her.

"Yeah that is pretty awesome" Santana smirks, tugging at the bottom of Quinn's t'shirt, disappointed when the blonde stops her, wondering if she is moving too fast for her. "Sorry, I.."

"Not here" Quinn interrupts, "I don't think your neighbours would appreciate seeing me topless at the window" she states with a soft smile, pushing herself up from the sofa and holding her hand out to Santana, pulling the grinning latina to her feet.

0-00-0

Santana groans as the shrill ringing of the doorbell interrupts her much needed sleep, glancing at the clock beside her bed and noticing it's only just gone nine thirty and that she's probably only been asleep for four hours at the most.

"Tell them to go away" Quinn grumbles into the latina's shoulder, "Too early" she adds.

"It's cool, I'll go get rid of them" Santana mutters, untangling herself from her girlfriend and climbing out of bed before throwing on a tank top and a pair of sweatpants. She mutters under her breath in spanish as she makes her way downstairs, cursing whoever is persistantly pressing the doorbell and reminding herself to smash the thing to pieces later. "What?" she snaps as she harshly pulls the door open, ready to verbally assault whoever is disturbing her sleep. The scowl falls from her features as she takes in the sight of Brittany holding a visibly upset Olivia close to her chest. "What happened?" she demands, taking the three year old into her arms and checking her for any signs of injury.

"I found her at the park" Brittany tells her softly, "I was there with my sister" she adds, jerking her head in the direction of her car that's sitting idly by the edge of the sidewalk.

"Why was she there on her own?" Santana asks loudly, realising she's taking her anger out on the wrong person. "Sorry, you should come inside" she states in a more gentle tone.

"I have to get my sister home, I don't know anything, just that she was sitting there on her own when we turned up" Brittany explains, "I figured Quinn would be here"

"Yeah, she is. Thanks Britt" Santana responds gratefully and the blonde nods, standing there awkwardly for a moment before motioning towards her car and turning around and slowly walking back down the driveway. For a second, Santana wonders if things are always going to be this awkward between her and Brittany, sadly thinking it just might be. A small whimper from Olivia brings her back to reality and she closes the door, turning her attention completely to the tiny girl in her arms. "What happened pretty girl?" she questions softly.

"Mommy wasn't in the house and I wanted to go the park" Olivia whispers, "But I couldn't remember how to go back home" she adds, fresh tears leaking from her chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey, it's okay, don't cry. You're alright now, Quinn's upstairs so I'm gonna go get her. Do you think you can watch some Tv until she comes down?" Santana asks, knowing Quinn isn't wearing any clothes and assuming the blonde would rather get dressed before seeing her little sister. "Good girl" Santana murmurs when Olivia nods, kissing her forehead and brushing blonde strands of silky hair away from her face. "I'll be right back with Quinn" she says, setting the girl back onto her feet and watching as she disappears into the livingroom. Santana waits until she hears the sound of cartoons floating from the room before making her way back upstairs to her bedroom, seeing that Quinn has fallen back asleep again. "Babe, you gotta wake up" she says, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently shaking her girlfriend's shoulder.

"What is it?" Quinn grumbles sleepily, rubbing her eyes and yawning loudly.

"Olivia's downstairs. Brittany found her at the park, she says there was nobody home and she wanted to go to the park but couldn't remember how to get back to the house" Santana explains quietly, watching shock register on the other girl's porcelain features. "She seems alright, just a little scared"

"She was by herself? Are you sure?" Quinn asks, frowning deeply as she reaches down to grab her discarded clothes from the night before, throwing her t'shirt on over her head and shimmying into her underwear and jeans.

"That's what Brittany said" Santana murmurs, "Olivia's watching cartoons, I didn't want to bring her upstairs while you were naked in my bed, it'd be a lot for her to take in" she adds softly, Quinn nodding in agreement as she stands up from the bed, following Santana from the bedroom.

_**Drop me a review to let me know what you think :) Thank you for reading.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Your reviews have kept me motivated so thank you!**_

_**I forgot to mention, there was a small time jump of a few months before the last chapter. It's now near the end of Quinn and Santana's junior year.**_

_**R&R please :)**_

Chapter 10

Santana busies herself in the kitchen while Quinn speaks to Olivia, feeling anger course through at the thought of the three year old being left on her own. Who in their right mind would leave their child alone in the house at such a young age she thinks to herself. She scoffs at herself, of course nobody in their right mind would but a mindless drunk who had no interest in her children, would. She plates up the chocolate chip pancakes, Olivia's favourite, and places all three plates on the table. The Latina wanders back into the livingroom, leaning against the doorframe and watching the two sisters interact, Olivia sitting on Quinn's knee and snuggling into her chest.

"Are you sure Mommy wasn't in the house? Was she maybe in the bathroom?" Quinn asks carefully.

"I looked" Olivia whispers, looking up at her sister, her brown eyes wide and sincere.

"Are you sure?" the older Fabray questions, the tiny girl nodding and Quinn meets Santana's gaze, seeing the latina's jaw clench. "I know you must have been scared sweetheart but you shouldn't have left the house" Quinn states, her voice low but firm. "You were lucky that it was Brittany that found you, remember when I told you that there were people who aren't very nice and how you should never go anywhere without an adult?"

"Uh huh" Olivia murmurs, looking between Quinn and Santana nervously. "Am I in trouble?" she asks quietly.

"No, you were scared and didn't know what to do" Quinn reassures her, "But you will never be left alone ever again, I promise" the teenager adds seriously. "Now, I think breakast is ready" the older Fabray states, Santana nodding in confirmation. "So why don't you go sit at the table and we will be right there, okay?" Olivia nods and accepts the kiss her big sister gives her before going into the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Santana asks quietly, pushing away from the doorframe and walking over to sit on the sofa next to her girlfriend, placing an arm around her waist and leaning her chin on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yeah" Quinn sighs, "I'm just so pissed off with my Mom and with myself, I never should have trusted her, which just pisses me off even more because I should be able to trust my parents with my sister. I need to go over there and find her" she adds with a groan.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Santana asks.

"No, it's best that I go myself. Could you look after Olivia?" Quinn asks her, standing up, Santana following her lead.

"Yeah, of course. Why don't you grab some clothes for both of you, I think you should stay here for another few days" the latina states gently, not wanting to cross a line but preferring that the two blondes are in her sights for the time being.

"Are you sure? I really don't want to impose, you've already done so much for us" Quinn replies quietly, sinking into her girlfriend's open arms.

"You're not imposing and at least this way I know both of you are safe" Santana murmurs, pressing a tender kiss to the other girl's temple and tightening her grip around her. "If you can convince your mom to get some help then I'll be there every step of the way and if she doesn't listen then I'll still be there" the latina adds softly.

"What about my dad?" Quinn asks against Santana's shoulder.

"I don't know. All I know is if I see even one mark on either of you then I'm calling the police, neither of you deserve the parents you have. I'm sorry if I'm crossing the line by saying it but that's how I see it" the raven haired girl states. She hesitates for a moment, thinking about how to word what she wants to say properly. "You're almost eighteen, if your parents can't step up then you could try to get custody if you wanted to" Santana says quietly.

"I've thought about it, I just don't think she'd be all that better off with just me. In a few months we'll be seniors in high school and that only leaves a few hours at night and weekends to work, I don't think I could juggle that with looking after Olivia" Quinn mutters sadly.

"There's two of us. Like I told you, I'm gonna be here for you both. If it comes to it then I'll help you with Olivia" Santana tells her firmly. Quinn pulls back from her girlfriend so that she can look at her properly, leaning forward and kissing her softly.

"Thank you" she responds simply. "I'd better go over there, see if she's home yet and if she's actually noticed that her toddler isn't there" she adds with a sigh. She kisses Santana again before grabbing her keys from the coffee table, where she had dumped them the night before.

"Call me if you need me" Santana tells her firmly, the blonde nodding and sending her a small smile before leaving the room. The latina watches at the window as Quinn gets into her car and backs out of the driveway, waiting until the car is out of sight before heading into the kitchen where Olivia is attempting to cut her pancakes herself. "Sorry pretty girl" Santana chuckles, smiling at the girl fondly as she cuts them for her. "Are you okay?" she asks as she takes Quinn's plate and places it into the microwave.

"Uh huh, I like your cooking" Olivia smiles cutely and Santana chuckles.

"I only cook for my favourite girls" the latina winks, sitting down next to her and starting to eat her own pancakes, earning a megawatt grin from the tiny blonde. She watches the toddler as she eats, smiling and reaching over to wipe some syrup from the girl's chin with her thumb. Santana doesn't understand how anyone could not want her and not love her and not want to spend every waking moment with her. She can't ever imagine having a child and just leaving them on their own in the house at three years old, nor can she imagine allowing their older sibling to basically raise them while she sits in her bedroom and drinks herself to sleep. The latina doesn't judge her for having a drinking problem but she does judge her for not trying for the sake of her children and for being a stone cold bitch who blames alcohol for everything.

"Finished" Olivia grins, jumping down from her seat and attempting to run passed Santana to go watch tv, squealing when the latina grabs her around the waist and pulls her onto her knee. It's only then that the teenager realises Olivia still has her pajama top on underneath her sweatshirt, guessing the girl just put her jeans on over her pajamas before she left the house.

"And where do you think you're going?" Santana asks her, ticking the tiny blonde's sides and eliciting adorable giggling from her.

"Spongebob is on" Olivia tells her, looking at the latina as if she is crazy for not already knowing this. "Can I watch it? Please, please Tana, I love you" she says sweetly.

"I love you too pretty girl. I guess I can allow it, go ahead. I'll be there once I've washed the dishes" Santana tells her with a smile, kissing her cheek and placing her back onto her feet, Olivia racing from the room as though scared that Santana would grab her again and make her miss more of her cartoon.

_**Please drop me a review to let me know what you think :) Thank you very much for reading!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of your reviews, I love waking up to them!**_

_**R&R please :)**_

Chapter 11

Quinn angrily swipes at her cascading tears as she storms from the house, slamming the door closed behind her, a small bag of clothes dangling from her arm. Only Judy Fabray can make Quinn feel both guilty and furious at the same time and this fact only infuriates the blonde teenager even more. She sighs heavily as she slides into her car, pulling the door closed and gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turn white. Groaning, the girl slams her hand against the dashboard in frustration, yanking her safety belt into place and starting the engine, pulling out into the street. She glues her gaze to the road when her father's car drives passed, going in the opposite direction and she can feel the man's eyes on her. The fact that he is home from golf already is a worrying sign, the patriarch of the Fabray family being known for giving up after a couple of poor holes and spending the rest of the day drinking his frustration away. Unfortunately, while the alcohol helps to rid his anger about the golf game, it only served to multiply his horrible opinion of his family. Quinn is relieved when she reaches Santana's house and she jumps out of her car as soon as she rolls it to a stop in the Latina's driveway, quickly heading into the house. She's met by an excited Olivia and Quinn can barely hold in the laugh that threatens to escape when she notices what her little sister is wearing. The three year old is dressed in one of Santana's t'shirts, the hem hanging down by her knees and a pair of the latina's shorts with the drawstrings pulled as tight as they can go.

"Look at you" the older blonde chuckles, bending down to pick the tiny girl up and sitting her on her hip.

"I'm wearing Santana's clothes" Olivia states, as though Quinn wouldn't have been able to work it out for herself.

"So I see" the teenager smiles as she walks them into the kitchen to find Santana, the latina emptying the washing machine and smiling when she sees Quinn.

"Hey, sorry I didn't know if you were going to bring clothes so I washed what Olivia was wearing and I didn't think you'd want to come back and find her running about the house naked" Santana chuckles, "Even though she was quite happy to" she adds causing Quinn to laugh and roll her eyes. The latina winks at Olivia, the little girl looking even smaller and completely adorable in the much too big clothes.

"I only brought enough for one night" Quinn murmurs, setting Olivia onto her feet and kissing the top of her head. "Why don't you go watch some cartoons for a little while" she says to the tiny blonde, Olivia looking delighted at the thought of getting to watch more tv than she's usually allowed and skipping from the room. 

"I'm guessing it didn't go too well then, huh?" Santana murmurs, placing Olivia's clothes on the counter and walking forward to take her girlfriend's hand.

"My mother is the most frustrating person in the world. She said that she only went out to get groceries, the only thing she bought was vodka but she tried to say otherwise. Apparently it's okay to leave your three year old child on her own to go buy booze, she doesn't see what she did wrong. I honestly don't think it's safe for Olivia to be in that house" Quinn states fearfully, accepting the warm hug Santana offers her.

"Or you" the Latina whispers.

"I can look after myself" Quinn replies softly.

"The bruises say otherwise and I'm not saying you're not strong enough, I'm saying your parents don't act like parents enough" Santana tells her gently. "Olivia has always had you and she now has me but who did you have? Who rescued you when your mom and dad were too drunk or too violent?" the Latina asks. "You didn't have anyone to protect you then but you have someone now and I refuse to let anything happen to you or Olivia" she adds, squeezing her arms tighter around Quinn's body before pulling back and cupping her girlfriend's face. "Please just stay here for at least a few days, please stay where it's safe. If not for you then do it for Olivia"

"Okay" Quinn whispers shakily. "I'll do it for her and, you" she adds quietly.

0-00-0

Santana walks downstairs with her raven hair still damp and curling slightly around her shoulders. She smiles as she reaches the livingroom, Olivia running straight to her and wrapping her tiny arms around the latina's legs.

"Hey pretty girl" Santana grins, reaching down and lifting the girl up song throwing her over her shoulder, eliciting an adorable giggle from the three year old.

"Quinn and Brittany are in the kitchen" Olivia says through her giggles, attempting to tickle Santana's back. The Latina feels her stomach drop when she hears that Brittany is here, wasn't one awkward encounter that day enough? "Walk faster Tana, I can't feel my face!" Olivia squeals and the teenager chuckles and pulls the girl back to sit on her hip.

"Can you feel...this?" the Latina asks, kissing Olivia's forehead, the little girl shaking her head with a grin. "No? Huh..well can you feel this..or this or this?" she asks, peppering Olivia's face with kisses.

"Yes! It tickles!" the tiny blonde yells, throwing her arms around the latina's neck and burying her face in the older girl's shoulder as if to shield herself. "I like your hugs and kisses though" she adds shyly, her voice muffled by Santana's shoulder and the Latina swears her heart just melted.

"Well pretty girl, there's plenty more where those came from, whenever you want them" she smiles, walking them through to the kitchen. Brittany and Quinn look up from their coffee as the teenager and the three year enter the room, the taller blonde smiling at the latina in an awkward greeting. "Hi" Santana murmurs, sitting down next to Quinn while her girlfriend slides a mug of coffee to her. "Thanks"

"Britt brought some of her little sister's things for Olivia to use so that I don't have to go back there tonight" Quinn murmurs.

"That's really cool of you" Santana tells Brittany genuinely.

"Anything to help" the dancer shrugs. "Besides, Aimee doesn't use most of her toys anyway and she's grown out of a tonne of her clothes now. Although, Olivia does look adorable in yours" she grins.

"I'm always adorable!" Olivia exclaims, looking up at Santana for confirmation, beaming when the latina nods. "See!"

"Seems like someone has Santana wrapped around her little finger" Brittany states to Quinn, the shorter blonde laughing and nodding, Santana playfully scowling at her girlfriend and Olivia doing her best to mimic her. The latina tightens her arm around the tiny blonde on her knee as she reaches forward to sip her coffee, locking eyes with Brittany for a brief moment and for once it's not awkward.

"Are you and Brittany best friends?" Olivia asks innocently and Brittany nods warily.

"Yeah" Santana murmurs, "We've always been best friends, Quinn too" the latina adds and both teenage blondes grin at her. Quinn takes Santana's hand into hers as soon as the raven haired girl puts her coffee down, her thumb drawing circles onto the soft skin. Santana regretfully drops her girlfriend's hand when the doorbell chimes, Olivia jumping down from her lap and starting to run from the room, the latina grabbing her and picking her up. "You can't answer the door by yourself" Santana tells her gently, walking through to the livingroom with the girl on her hip and looking out of the window, her heart stopping when she notices Russell's car at the end of the driveway.

_**Please let me know what you think, thank you for reading :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**For reasons that some of you are aware of I had to leave this account for a little while. I am back for now and will be focusing only on a few stories until I am finished them. I hope you guys can be patient with me, I'm doing my best to update all of them but it may take some time.**_

_**If you guys are interested, I have set up a Tumblr account so that even those of you who don't have a fanfiction account (anons) can ask me things about my stories if you need to. The account is **__**NayaFanFF **__**:)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 12

Santana's heart thumps violently in her chest as she turns away from the window so that Olivia can't see her father's car, wondering what the hell she should do as she forces herself to keep her features calm, she doesn't want to scare the tiny girl in her arms. Olivia is completely oblivious to the latina's worries, far too focused on the raven hair she is playing with.

"Liv, why don't you go upstairs to my room and look for a dvd to watch" Santana suggests quietly, setting the girl on her feet and watching as she hurtles from the room, far too shaken to even say something about her running in the house. She quickly makes her way back to the kitchen and Quinn can tell from the latina's features that it's either her mother or father at the door, nobody else would make Santana so worried and protective. "I sent Olivia up to my room, go up there and wait with her..I'll get rid of him" Santana states in a hushed voice.

"We both will" Brittany says, standing up and gazing at Santana with determination in her ice blue eyes. "There's nothing to worry about Quinn, we'll deal with this" she states with confidence and Quinn glances at Santana who nods and crosses the room to press a firm kiss to her girlfriend's soft lips.

"Go" Santana murmurs, waiting until Quinn has left the kitchen before turning her attention to Brittany, the doorbell ringing shrilly for what felt like the hundredth time. Brittany gives her a reassuring nod and makes her way to the front door, Santana pulling it open to reveal a furious Russell Fabray, a meek Judy Fabray standing at the end of the drive. "Can I help you with something?" the latina asks as politely as she can, despite the anger she feels at both of Quinn and Olivia's parents.

"Where are my daughters?" he demands loudly and Santana can tell by the slur in his voice that he has already had at least a few drinks. "I know they're here, they are always fucking here!" he spits, his face red and his eyes intense.

"I'm sorry Mr Fabray, they aren't here" Brittany tells him in an innocent and polite voice. "Santana and I are spending some quality time together, alone" she adds and he gapes at them in disgust. "I wish I could tell you where they are but I honestly have no idea. So if you'll excuse me..I'm trying to enjoy an evening with my _girlfriend_" Brittany drawls in that same innocent voice and Santana fights the urge to roll her eyes when Russell Fabray's face contorts in fury and distaste. "Have a nice night, sir" Brittany throws in for good measure before closing the door and grinning at Santana. The latina watches through the peep hole as Russell storms back to his car, watching him until his car is out of sight before turning back to Brittany with a smirk on her full lips.

"I'm pretty sure you almost finished him off" she tells the blonde in amusement and Brittany beams at her. "Nicely played" she adds.

"What can I say..I'm not as stupid as everybody thinks" Brittany responds with a shrug.

"Not everybody thinks that" Santana tells her meaningfully. "Some of us realise how smart you are, thank you for dealing with him. I'm glad we're friends again" the latina tells her softly and sincerely.

"We've always been friends, silly. Just because we hit a little bump on the road doesn't mean we stopped being friends. We were friends before we tried dating and we're still friends now" Brittany states honestly with a bright smile.

0-00-0

Quinn winces when her father's furious voice floats upstairs and she looks over at Olivia who is frowning, her hand paused on it's way to Santana's dvd shelf. Quinn motions for her little sister to come closer and the tiny girl all but flies onto the bed and into her arms. She rubs her back gently while signalling for her to stay quiet and Olivia nods before burying her face into her chest. The teenager listens carefully, unable to keep the smirk from her face when she hears Brittany talking to her father, the young woman clearly enjoying herself and Quinn can only wish that she could see his bright red, angry face.

"Daddy's mad" Olivia whispers into her older sister's shirt, her tiny hands gripping the material for dear life.

"It's alright baby, he's leaving" Quinn reassures her gently, "See? He's gone" she adds when she hears the front door close.

"Is he mad at Santana? Like how he gets mad at you?" Olivia asks and Quinn is convinced that she can feel her heart shatter as she tightens her arms around the little blonde.

"No..no baby. Santana's fine and Daddy is away..I promise" the older blonde murmurs sincerely. "We're all okay..all of us" Olivia gazes up at her with wide, brown eyes with intense trust and she nods before snuggling back into Quinn's arms. "Come on, we'll go downstairs and see Santana" Quinn tells her, feeling the tiny blonde relax in her arms at her words and she stands up with her still in her arms. She carries her from her girlfriend's bedroom and heads downstairs, Olivia wriggling from her arms and sprinting towards Santana who is standing at the front door with Brittany.

"Hey, pretty girl" Santana coos as she lifts Olivia into her arms. "What's the matter? Are you okay?" she asks, frowning slightly when the girl throws her arms around her neck and holds on to her tightly.

"She was scared for you" Quinn murmurs quietly and Santana feels tears pool in her eyes as she hugs Olivia close to her.

"I'm okay munchkin, I promise. You don't have to worry about me" the latina whispers, pressing a gentle kiss to Olivia's cheek. She turns around when she feels Brittany's hand on her shoulder, the tall blonde silently motioning that she's leaving, feeling like she's intruding. "Thanks Britt" Santana murmurs. "Seriously, thanks" Brittany nods with a small smile and sends Olivia a small wave as she leaves the house, winking at Quinn when the other blonde shoots her a grateful smile. Santana reaches out and locks the door after Brittany leaves before moving out of the hall and closing the curtains in the livingroom, kitchen and dining room, only relaxing after she has done this. "Okay, you go bring a dvd down and I'll make some hot chocolate and popcorn for us" the latina tells Olivia, sending her from the livingroom with a playful swat. "Are you okay, babe?" Santana asks Quinn, making her way to stand in front of her girlfriend.

"Yeah, I am now" Quinn sighs, leaning into Santana, the latina instantly wrapping her arms around her and kissing her temple. "Olivia was so scared, I thought I had managed to hide most of it from her" she grumbles.

"Kids pick up on everything, especially Olivia...she's too smart for her own good" Santana chuckles dryly. "You've done so much for her and she loves you so much that she'll notice when you're upset or scared, it's not a bad thing that she knows you so well, it means she knows she can always trust you" Santana explains. "You're amazing" she adds, turning her head to capture Quinn's lips with her full ones. The kiss comes to an organic end and they rest their foreheads together, dark passionate eyes meeting emotional hazel. "I love you" Santana whispers tenderly.

"I love you too. So much"

"I love you too!" Olivia exclaims, announcing her presence to the two teenagers, grinning up at Santana with a copy of Ice Age in her hands.

"Aww I love you too, pretty girl" Santana grins, scooping the tiny girl into her arms and kissing her cheek.

"Where's the popcorn?" Olivia asks in a scandalised voice, "And the hot chocolate?"

"You were too quick for me" Santana chuckles as Quinn's cell phone blares out into the kitchen. "You get that and we'll get the popcorn and hot chocolate" the latina states to her girlfriend, Quinn rolling her eyes at how whipped Santana is when it comes to Olivia. She nods and Santana sits the little girl on the counter as she starts getting things out of the cupboards, Olivia chatting animatedly to the latina.

"Hey Britt, did you forget something?" Quinn asks as she answers her cell phone. "Britt..calm down, I can't understand you..what did you see?" she questions while Santan gazes across at her curiously, her dark brown eyes filled with concern. "Brittany, slow down!" Quinn tells her sharply, "It was their car?" Santana watches as the blonde teenager visibly pales, her hazel eyes filling with tears. "I'm on my way"

_**To be continued..Thank you for reading, please review.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you very much for your amazing reviews for this story so far and for your patience while waiting for this chapter, I really appreciate it! :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 13

Santana glances sideways at her girlfriend, noticing how tightly Quinn grips onto the steering wheel and wishing that she had been more firm with her offer to drive. She turns her head to look at Olivia in the backseat and sighs in relief when she sees that the three year old is fast asleep. Her knee bounces nervously when they stop at a red light and her hand shoots out to gently squeeze Quinn's thigh in a reassuring manner.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive? I can take over if you'd like?" Santana offers softly.

"I'm fine," Quinn assures her. "I just need something to focus on or my mind will run all over the place, driving keeps me calm," she explains, "but I'm fine," she insists.

"Which way are you going?" Santana questions.

"I won't drive past the...the car," Quinn murmurs.

"Britt's gonna meet us at the hospital, she'll take Olivia home with her if we need to stay longer than planned," Santana murmurs, "is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, I don't want Olivia to be at the hospital for too long. You don't have to stay with me," Quinn says quietly.

"Yes, I do," Santana states simply, her tone of voice implying that she won't listen to any arguments. They fall back into silence as the light turns green, Santana leaving Quinn to focus on driving; her distraction from the piece of news they had learned not thirty minutes ago. She worries about what they'll find when they get to the hospital and she spends most of the car ride to the hospital going over all of the possible scenarios in her head. Santana groans inwardly when her cell phone blares out into the otherwise quiet car, knowing there's no way Olivia slept through it. A quick glance behind her confirms it and she sighs before placing her cell to her ear.

"Hey, papi. I'm a little busy right now, can I call you back later?" Santana requests tiredly. She frowns slightly as she listens to her father speak. "Yeah...we already know, we're headed there right now," she states quietly. Quinn casts a sideways glance at her girlfriend, easily working out what Santana and Carlos are discussing.

"Quinn, where are we going?" Olivia asks in confusion, her tiny fists rubbing her eyes as she attempts to wake up properly.

"Just...uh..just go back to sleep, baby girl," Quinn murmurs. She winces and silently curses herself for not being able to talk to her little sister properly but, honestly? She has no damn idea what to say to her.

"Okay, Papi. I'll see you soon." Quinn looks across at Santana as the other young woman ends her phonecall.

"Is he with my pare...them?" Quinn asks her softly and Santana nods subtly. "Are they okay?"

"He wouldn't say," Santana murmurs, sneaking a quick glance to Olivia in the back seat, noticing that the young child is watching them carefully. "Hey, pretty girl, did you have a nice nap?" she asks kindly.

"Uh huh," Olivia nods, "where are we going?" she questions again. Santana gazes over at Quinn, chewing the inside of her cheek nervously and catching the miniscule nod from her.

"Well, honey, we're going to the hospital," Santana tells her gently.

"Why are we going to the hospital? Do I have to get a shot?" Olivia questions warily and, despite the situation, Santana and Quinn chuckle quietly at the question.

"No, you don't need to get a shot," Santana reassures her. "Your mommy and daddy got into a _tiny_ accident, honey, so we're gonna go see how they are."

"What kind of accident? Did they fall off the swing set? Cause I had to go to hospital when I did, I got four stitches in my finger," Olivia states proudly, holding her finger up for Santana to inspect, the older girl turning around in her seat as much as her seat belt allows her to.

"I bet you were very brave," Santana guesses, grinning gently at the serious nod from the three year old. "Your mommy and daddy's accident was a little more serious than that though," she acknowledges. "They had a little accident in their car, we're just gonna go see them and make sure they're okay."

"What if they're not?" Olivia whimpers.

"They will be, I promise," Santana informs her, holding out her pinkie to the toddler. Olivia studies it for a moment before nodding, seemingly satisfied, and wrapping her tiny pinkie around Santana's much larger one. She catches Quinn's gaze and frowns at the look of disapproval on the blonde's face but chooses not to bring it up right now, not while Olivia is in earshot.

0-00-0

Santana firmly grasps Olivia's hand as the tiny girl jumps out of the back of the car, a giggle erupting from her throat when Santana scoops her into her arms. Quinn sends her girlfriend a silent, grateful gaze while Santana handles looking after Olivia, allowing the older blonde to escape into her thoughts. The warm smile and wink that she receives as a response makes her lips pull into a soft smile.

"Where's mommy and daddy?" Olivia asks innocently, looking up at Santana, the unwavering trust in her eyes causing the teenager's heart to expand in her chest.

"They're inside, pretty girl, they need to stay inside so that the doctor can take care of them properly," Santana explains kindly and patiently.

"Brittany!" Olivia wrenches her hand out of Santana's when she notices the tall blonde approaching them, sprinting as fast as her little legs can take her and jumping into Brittany's arms.

"You shouldn't have promised her that," Quinn murmurs to her girlfriend, "don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate you taking charge and keeping her occupied, really I do but you shouldn't have promised her that."

"Promised her what?"

"That my parents are definitely okay, we don't know if they are," Quinn whispers. "She trusts you, she takes your promises to heart and if they're not okay..."

"You're right," Santana sighs, inwardly cursing herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't think, I was just so desperate to make her feel better that I didn't really think it through."

"It's okay. I mean, you're probably right...I just.."

"There's no need to explain, babe. I get it, you're just protecting her feelings, it's what a big sister does," Santana cuts her off.

"I don't need to protect her from you though," Quinn argues.

"You're not protecting her from me, you're protecting her from my inexperience," Santana chuckles. "I'm so new at this but you have been looking out for her ever since she was born, I was bound to make a mistake sometime," she shrugs, "the question is, can you forgive me?" Santana asks, somewhat flirtaciously.

"I guess I could," Quinn smirks, leaning forward to capture Santana's full lips with her own. "I feel awful," she sighs. "..guilty."

"Guilty? Why?" Santana asks in concern.

"When I heard about the accident, my first thought wasn't about their well being," Quinn mutters.

"What was it?" Santana questions, taking Quinn's hands into her own and squeezing them gently...reassuringly. Quinn stares down at the ground, hesitantly chewing on her bottom lip. "You can tell me anything, babe. I won't ever judge you, not for anything," Santana sincerely states.

"I felt...I felt like we might finally be...free," Quinn whispers, shame evident in her brilliant hazel eyes. "Like, now they might not be so terrible to us, that this will force them to get help or, at the very least, they will no longer be allowed to have Olivia...that I might get her."

"You shouldn't feel guilty about that, sweetheart. Of course you felt that way, you're thinking of Olivia...just like she needs you to," Santana tells her honestly. "Please don't feel guilty about that. No matter the circumstances right now, your parents are the only people who should feel guilty. This is their fault, it doesn't matter who was driving, both of them had been drinking. They are to blame for that and your awful home life."

"I doubt they'd ever feel guilty," Quinn scoffs, anger flashing across her perfect features.

"Let's just take this one step at a time," Santana says reasonably. "We'll go inside and find out exactly what's going on. If it's serious then Britt can take Olivia out of here," she adds, inclining her head in the direction of the little girl and their best friend.

"You're right," Quinn murmurs. "We'll just go inside and then go from there, I've dealt with so much shit with my parents before, this isn't gonna be any different," she sighs.

"There's my dad," Santana says quietly as they walk across the parking lot, both of them keeping a careful eye on Olivia as she giggles with Brittany a few yards ahead of them. Quinn looks up at the emergency room doors, easily spotting the older man as he paces outside. Carlos stops pacing when he notices them approaching, the grim expression on his face causing Quinn's heart to jump into her throat. She watches as the doctor gazes at his daughter, a slight shake of the head telling them that it's not good news.

_**To be continued..Thank you for reading, please leave a review to let me know what you think. Again, I apologise for the long wait! **_


	14. Chapter 14

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**A/N - I will be updating this story daily until it is finished so long as there is still interest in it. Please don't be shy, let me know what you think :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 14

Santana's knee bounces nervously as she stares down at the waiting room floor, gnawing on her bottom lip as she impatiently waits for Quinn to come back with some news. A small clatter forces her to look up and she watches as Olivia picks the crayon she dropped up off the floor. Santana gazes sadly at the tiny girl as she goes back to messily colouring in the book Brittany had gotten from the hospital gift shop.

"Get out of your head." Santana jumps when she hears Brittany speak and she turns her attention to her friend. "You're thinking too much," Brittany murmurs. "You don't have any control over what may or may not happen tonight, you need to just let it happen and deal with it as it happens," she adds wisely. Santana nods and offers Brittany a strained smile that doesn't reach her deep, brown eyes.

"What happens if they don't make it?" Santana asks in a fearful whisper, being careful to not be overheard by Olivia but the young girl seems far too interested in her colouring book to pay any attention to the teenagers in the room with her.

"What happens if the alcoholic, bigoted and abusive bullies don't make it?" Santana winces as Brittany sarcastically rephrases her question. She quickly glances across at Olivia, relieved to see that she is still oblivious.

"Britt!" Santana hisses.

"What? You want Quinn to still be around those people? You want Olivia to be around them?" Brittany questions pointedly.

"Look, they may be terrible parents..hell, terrible people but, nobody deserves to die, Britt. Of course I don't want Quinn or Olivia to get hurt, of course I don't but, what if this is all Judy needs to pull herself away from the bottle? To get help and be a mom to her kids? I think Olivia deserves to have her mom raise her and love her like a parent should, don't you?" Santana asks her.

"I'd love for that to happen but, come on, do you really think that would happen? Judy might try but Russell wouldn't and Judy would never leave Russell. Okay, they don't deserve to die," Brittany concedes, "but they don't deserve to be in Quinn or Olivia's lives."

"Why would a parent do this to their children? Look at that innocent little girl," Santana tips her head in Olivia's direction, "I'd give my life for her, but her parents don't give a damn," she mutters bitterly. "And Quinn...Quinn is amazing, she's a beautiful person but all her parents see is a disappointment. I don't understand how Judy and Russell can look at her and not see that she's a compassionate, generous and loving person. A person that deserves to be loved with your entire soul and then some...how can they be so blind?"

"I don't know, and I hope I never find out," Brittany states soberly. "At least they have you."

"Yeah... right," Santana scoffs, "What good am I to them? Just an hour ago I promised Olivia that her parents would be okay without even knowing what their condition was...who does that?"

"San, you shouldn't beat yourself up about that," Brittany murmurs softly. "Your judgement was clouded because you were so desperate to make her feel better, you love both of them and they clearly adore you. You have already done more for them in a few months than Judy and Russell have in a lifetime," she rubs Santana's back gently. "I feel so lucky to have a best friend like you and I respect you so much for everything that you've done for Quinn. No matter what happens, they have you. That's a big thing. When you love someone, they're the luckiest person in the world because they have you looking out for them."

"Thanks, B," Santana mutters gruffly and, even though she tries to hide it, Brittany catches her friend wiping away a few stray tears. She looks over at Olivia again and chuckles softly, nudging Santana gently and pointing at Olivia who is fast asleep on the floor. "I don't know how she does that," Santana laughs as she stands up and moves across the waiting room to carefully scoop the little girl into her arms. "She must be exhausted, I mean it is almost," she checks her watch, "Oh."

"What?"

"It's midnight," Santana murmurs, "it's Olivia's birthday."

"Oh."

"She's four years old now and the only reason her parents are in the same building as her on her birthday is because they smashed their car up," Santana sighs.

"Hey." They spin around to see Quinn standing in the doorway, her features drawn and exhausted. "Sorry it took so long, the ER is busy tonight," Quinn explains.

"How are they?" Santana asks softly.

"My dad was unconscious at the scene, he still hasn't woken up. My mom is awake, the doctor is with her now. They said I can see her soon."

"And how are you?" Brittany asks in concern.

"Tired," Quinn responds simply. "How long has Olivia been asleep?"

"Just a few minutes, she just missed being awake when she turned four," Santana tells her.

"God.. She's gonna spend her birthday in a hospital waiting room, all because our parents drink their body weight in liquor before driving." Quinn shakes her head, frustration lacing her features.

"How about I take her home with me? I can bring her back in the morning and you guys can spend some time with her," Brittany suggests. "Knowing Olivia, all she cares about is spending time with you guys. Once your parents are out of the woods we can celebrate properly."

"Yeah. Thanks, Britt," Quinn nods.

"No need to thank me. I think I get the best deal out of this, I get to hang out with an adorable kid," Brittany says with a smile, attempting to lighten the mood and failing miserably. Santana carefully transfers the sleeping Olivia into Brittany's arms after laying a gentle kiss to the little girl's cheek.

"I love you," Quinn whispers before kissing Olivia's head. "Just...don't let her be sad..please, not on her birthday," she murmurs pleadingly to Brittany.

"I won't," Brittany promises. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"We will," Santana mutters. She watches as their friend carries Olivia out of the waiting room and turns to gaze at her girlfriend, opening her arms to her. Quinn all but falls into Santana's comforting embrace, her face buried in her shoulder as she inhales the other girl's comforting scent. "Do you need me to come into your mom's room with you?"

"No, it's okay," Quinn mumbles, squeezing her eyes closed and snuggling further into Santana's athletic body.

"Are you sure? I don't mind," Santana swears.

"I love that you're willing to do that but I need to do that by myself. I need to talk to her, give her one last chance to fix things. It's too late for her to make it up to me but she can still change and be a good mother to Olivia," Quinn whispers.

"Well, make sure you tell me if you change your mind," Santana states quietly.

"I will."

_**To be continued. The next chapter will be up tomorrow, please review. Thank you for reading.**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for your kind words about the last chapter.**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 15

Quinn lets out a low breath as she stands outside her father's hospital room, relishing the feel of Santana's comforting hand on her lower back. She doesn't know why she's nervous. The nurse had told her that her father is still unconscious and probably would be for a while, it's not like her father could verbally attack her. Quinn leans against the doorframe and stares at her father with nothing but resentment in her hazel eyes. What did she ever do to deserve a father like him? She's made plenty of mistakes in the past but nothing like the mistakes he's made and at least she realised them and admitted to them, Russell Fabray never did. His chest rises and falls with slowly breathes thanks to the machine that he's hooked up to and, for a split second, Quinn scares herself. It would be so easy to just switch off the machine and end his life. No. She won't become that person, she won't become a murderer for the likes of him. He doesn't deserve to die, he doesn't get to take the easy way out. He needs to pay for his mistakes.

"Quinn!" Olivia's voice echoes down the corridor and Santana instantly reacts, pulling the room door shut to stop Olivia from seeing Russell.

"Hey, birthday girl," Quinn cheers as Olivia flies into her arms, plastering a grin on her sake. "Happy birthday!"

"I'm four now," Olivia tells her with a serious nod.

"Yes, you are. You're almost a grown up!" Quinn smiles, "Hey Britt."

"Hey, you okay?" Brittany asks quietly. Quinn nods weakly, a strained smile gracing her features.

"Hey there, pretty girl," Santana coos, stealing Olivia from Quinn's arms and kissing her cheek. "Happy birthday! You're almost as old as us now!"

"Nuh uh, silly," Olivia giggles. "You're _way_ older than me!" Quinn laughs at the faux offended expression on Santana's face, glad that her girlfriend is able to keep up appearances for the both of them.

"I need to go do something real quick, do you think you can look after Quinn and Brittany for me? Make sure they stay out of trouble?" Santana asks in a mock serious voice.

"I will," Olivia responds, deadly serious. Quinn holds back a chuckle when her little sister turns around to give her, what she assumes is, a stern look.

"Awesome. See you soon," Santana grins, placing Olivia back onto her feet. She presses a quick kiss to Quinn's lips, smirking a tapping the side of her nose when her girlfriend sends her a curious look.

"Why don't we go get something to eat down at the cafeteria?" Quinn suggests, holding her hand out for Olivia to take.

"You guys go, I'll come back later. Just give me a call when you need me," Brittany tells her.

"You should stay, Britt. Have something to eat with us," Quinn offers.

"No thanks. Santana will be back soon anyway and I think it should just be the three of you," Brittany replies slyly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Definitely," Brittany smiles. "I'll see you guys later," she adds, ruffling Olivia's hair.

"Alright, if you're sure. Thank you so much, Britt."

"Anytime," Brittany says with a wink.

0-00-0

Santana sighs and stifles a huge yawn as she stands in line in the small grocery store across the road from the hospital, her arms filled with different items. She rolls her eyes at how slowly the clerk is moving and resists the urge to curse him out.

"Mija?" Santana turns around when she hears her father's voice, finding him a few people behind her in the line. She motions for him to join her, it saves him waiting longer than he needs to. "How are your friend's parents doing?"

"I'm not too sure, they're still running some tests. It doesn't look too good for her dad though," Santana responds softly. "Why are you here? Don't you have a surgery?"

"I just finished, I'm some grabbing some cigarattes before I go home to collect your mother," Carlos tells her. "I have another conference this weekend and your mother is coming with me, it's in Chicago."

"Do you have to go? Can't you cancel?" Santana asks pleadingly. "These next few days are going to be pretty rough," she adds, stopping herself from adding what she really wants to say; that she needs them.

"Mija, this is my job...I need to do it," Carlos replies, looking irritated that she asked him that.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry, papi."

"One day, when you have a husband, you'll understand," Carlos states and Santana nods weakly, sadly looking at the floor as she thinks about her girlfriend.

0-00-0

Quinn wrinkles her nose as she chokes down a spoonfull of awful tasting jello, it certainly doesn't taste like strawberry. At least Olivia seems to be enjoying hers. She carefully watches her little sister as she chews on the inside of her cheek, wondering how on earth she's going to explain all of this to the tiny girl if Russell doesn't wake up soon. Sure, Olivia's a smart kid but she's still only four years old, this is surely too much for her to understand.

"Santana's back!" Olivia cheers, pointing her spoon in Santana's direction, the young woman grinning at her as she walks across the cafeteria.

"Hey, pretty girl, did you look after Quinn for me?" Santana asks as she joins them at the table.

"Yes," Olivia nods seriously, "she was really good, she bought me jello!"

"Awesome! That looks like it tastes really good," Santana states, chuckling when Olivia offers her some. "Oh...wow..that tastes um..great," she chokes out, hiding her grimace and shooting Quinn a glare for not warning her. "Listen, I've got a little surprise for you..close your eyes, pretty girl." Olivia immediately squeezes her eyes closed and Quinn looks curiously at her girlfriend. "Santana grins as she pulls a cupcake out of her purse, along with a candle and a lighter. She quickly sticks the candle into the cake and lights it. "Okay, pretty girl, open your eyes and see what Quinn sent me to get."

"Whoa! Is that for me?" Olivia asks excitedly. "I love cake!" she adds, causing both teenagers to chuckle lightly.

"Well, that cake is all for you," Quinn says, smiling warmly at Santana who shrugs.

"Thanks for making Santana go get it," Olivia tells her big sister with a sweet smile.

"I di.." Santana kicks her underneath the table, "you're welcome, baby girl." Olivia beams when the two teenagers sing happy birthday to her, her eyes shining excitedly as she waits for the moment that she can start digging into her cake. "Alright, make a wish," Quinn smiles. She and Santana watch as Olivia concentrates for a second before blowing the candle out.

"Quinn..." Santana states softly, jerking her head in the direction of the approaching doctor.

"Can you watch her for a second?"

"I've got her," Santana assures her. Quinn sighs softly and pushes her chair back and stands up, walking across to the doctor before he can reach the table. She doesn't want Olivia to overhear anything.

"Miss Fabray," the doctor states in greeting. "I need to have a little chat with you," he adds, gesturing to the nearest empty table and they sit down opposite each other. "As you know, your father has severe swelling in his brain and, well, Miss Fabray..."

"Please, doctor. Just tell me how it is. Don't sugarcoat it, just straight facts," Quinn interrupts him.

"Very well, ma'am. We looked into your father's medical records and it seems that he has a do not resuscitate order, a DNR, a very extensive one. In the case of an injury that ceases brain activity he doesn't want to live his life in a vegetative state. If, after thirty days, there's no improvement he wants all life support machines to be turned off," he explains. "If his heart stops before that, he doesn't want any extensive measures to be taken to save his life." Quinn nods and blinks back tears, unexpected tears that she never thought she would ever shed over her father.

"Is it likely that there will be any brain activity in the next thirty days?" She asks in a low, vulnerable voice.

"I'm afraid not," the doctor stares apologetically. "He has less than a five percent chance of survival, I'm very sorry, ma'am." He pauses for a few moments to allow this news to sink in before continuing. "I noticed you haven't been to see your mother yet, you are aware that she's awake?"

"Yes, I do." Quinn nods, "I'm gonna go see her soon."

"I'm on my way there now to explain your father's condition to her, would you like to be there when I do?" the doctor asks kindly. Quinn glances across at her sister and girlfriend, noticing that Santana is watching her carefully while Olivia digs into her cake. Santana gives her a subtle nod and a reassuring smile that helps Quinn to make her mind up.

"Yes. I'll come with you." Quinn silently follows the doctor to the elevator and steps into it behind him, trying to process what he had just told her. She hates that she feels so upset about her father and wishes that she could be as cold hearted as he is..was. It'd make it must easier. The elevator opens and she steps out, lost in thought as she follows the doctor.

"Ma'am, please wait here," the doctor suddenly tells her urgently, sprinting into the nearest hospital room. Quinn peeks into the room, unable to see the person requiring help due to the large crowd of doctors and nurses gathering around them. She keeps watching as one of the nurses moves to grab the paddles and she catches sight of the patient, her mother. A lump rises in her throat as Quinn watches them work, tears blurring her gaze as a rather stout looking woman gives her mother CPR. Quinn turns her attention to the clock as one minute passes, then two...then three.

"She's back." Quinn hears a male voice say. "Hello there, Mrs Fabray. You gave us quite a scare." Quinn stares at her mother, surprised at the amount of relief she feels as her mother's ice blue eyes stare back at her.

_**To be continued.. Next chapter will be up tomorrow if you want it. Please review. Thank you for reading.**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for the great reviews for the last chapter, I really appreciate hearing feedback.**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 16

The room is filled with an awkward silence as Quinn sits in the uncomfortable chair next to her mother's hospital bed, looking everywhere but at her mother. She can feel Judy's eyes on her but she still doesn't return the gaze, instead waiting for the older blonde to break the uncomfortable silence. She can''t see any signs of injury apart from a small cut on the bridge of her mother's nose and her tired, pale features. Quinn is definitely glad that her mom is okay but that doesn't mean that she will suddenly forgive her for everything she has done to her and Olivia. Judy had barely reacted when the doctor explained Russell's condition to her once she had stabilised and Quinn isn't sure how to take that.

"These walls could do with a lick of paint," Judy finally murmurs and Quinn turns to look at her weirdly. "You'd think they'd want their patients to be in a room that was better decorated when they're recovering from a horrific accident." Quinn rolls her eyes. An accident. She notices that her mother purposely doesn't mention the cause of the accident. She also doesn't mention anything about the second piece of news that the doctor had given them, that the young woman in the other car had been killed in the crash. If her father ever wakes up, he'll be in a lot of trouble with the police. "Don't you think, Quinnie?" Judy asks her, her daughter cringing at the use of the pet name.

"Sure," she offers non committedly.

"Where is Olivia?" Judy questions her suddenly, as though she has only just noticed the child's absense.

"She's downstairs in the cafeteria with Santana," Quinn tells her, not missing the scowl that crosses her mother's pale features at the mention of Santana's name. "She stayed with Brittany last night so that she doesn't have to hang around here and see things that could upset her," she explains. "She's only here now because I wanted to spend time with her on her birthday."

"She should be here anyway," Judy snaps, her icy eyes flashing angrily. "Her mother and father are in the hospital," she adds, completely ignoring the fact that it's her youngest child's fourth birthday. "Go get her, I'd like to see her."

"I don't think that's such a great idea, mom," Quinn murmurs.

"I wasn't asking, Quinn." Quinn cringes at the harshness lacing her mother's tone and she slowly stands up.

"I'll be right back." Quinn sighs as she makes her way back down to the cafeteria to collect Olivia. She's pretty sure that she's making a big mistake by doing what her mother asks her to but at least she actually wants to see Olivia. That's a start, right? She stabs her finger against the elevator button and chews on one of her fingernails as she waits for it to arrive. The elevator is packed when it arrives and Quinn has to squeeze between two doctors to fit inside, the two men continuing their conversation over the top of her head. Once the door opens at the floor Quinn needs, she pushes her way out and heads straight to the cafeteria. Olivia looks thrilled to see her and so does Santana, the latter holding up a cup of coffee to her. "Thank you, I so need this," Quinn says gratefully, moving forward to kiss Santana but stopping herself when she remembers where they are.

"Everything okay?" Santana asks.

"Um..can I explain it all later?" Quinn questions, motioning towards Olivia with her eyes.

"Of course, babe," Santana responds, giving her a look of understanding.

"Olivia, mommy is asking to see you, let's go and see her, yeah?" Quinn murmurs.

"I'll come too," Santana chimes in. "I'll wait outside though," she adds and Quinn realises she wants to be close by in case something happens. Quinn nods with a soft smile while Olivia slips her tiny hand into her larger one, the girl seemingly okay with going to see her mother. Quinn is relieved that her little sister hasn't asked about their father as she still has no idea what to say to her. She knows that she'll eventually have to tell her but, for now, Quinn is fine with Olivia being obliviously happy. That bomb can be dropped on another day.

"Is mommy happy?" Olivia asks softly, looking up at her big sister with wide, brown eyes.

"She will be once she sees you," Quinn tells her with a reassuring smile.

"What about daddy? Am I going to see him?" Quinn's stomach drops at the question and she blinks back tears.

"Daddy's sleeping right now, baby girl," she answers simply, relieved that Olivia doesn't ask any other questions about Russell. Santana glances over at her warily, silently questioning if she is okay and Quinn subtly nods, smiling weakly. Quinn chooses to take the stairs, to save trying to squeeze the three of them into an elevator, and they climb them in silence. Quinn tightens her grip on Olivia's hand ever so slightly when they reach the correct floor and she asks herself again, is this the right thing to do?

"I'll be right out here," Santana murmurs when they stop outside of Judy's room. "If you need me..."

"I know," Quinn states with a small smile. "We won't be long." Santana shrugs as though to tell her to take her time. Quinn takes a deep breath and reaches forward, pushing the door open.

"Hi, mommy." Quinn can't help but smile when she hears the happiness and relief in her little sister's voice and she wishes that she had the four year old's ability to forgive so quickly. Judy smiles at her youngest daughter but it doesn't reach her icy eyes and Quinn can tell that it's all for show.

"Hello, Olivia," Judy responds stiffly. Olivia doesn't hear the coolness in her tone and she hurtles across to her mother's hospital bed, clambering onto the firm mattress and sitting next to Judy.

"Are you okay,mommy?" the young girl asks in concern. "I was scared."

"Well then, you can only imagine how I felt," Judy responds, Olivia frowning and looking across at Quinn in confusion.

"Mommy's trying to say that she was scared too," Quinn explains kindly, internally fuming at how her mother is talking to the four year old.

"Oh. It's my birthday today, I'm four now!" Olivia tries a new tactic, her grin faltering when Judy's grim features darken even further.

"Don't be so selfish," Judy scolds coldly. "You birthday isn't important when your mother and father are stuck in hospital." Olivia starts to shimmy off of the bed, tears brimming in her chocolate brown eyes, but Judy's hand wrapping around her wrist stops her from moving away. "Don't be so rude, Olivia. I'm talking to you, don't walk away," Judy snaps.

"Mom!" Quinn bites out, her hazel eyes flashing in anger. "Stop it."

"Excuse me, little girl? I am your mother, you don't get to talk to me like that," Judy hisses furiously.

"Don't talk to Quinn like that!" Olivia cries out, trying to tug her wrist out of her mother's vice like grasp. Judy glares coldly at the four year old and lifts her hand to rub it across her face in frustration, Olivia misconstruing the action and flinching before bursting into tears and yanking her arm free. She sprints into Quinn's arms and sobs into the older girl's chest, Quinn attempting to comfort the tiny girl while struggling to keep her own anger under control. She walks Olivia out of the hospital room, ignoring Judy's furious protests, and handing Olivia over to a concerned looking Santana.

"Quinn? What is it? Is she okay?" Santana questions, checking Olivia's limbs and face for signs of injury, her nostrils flaring when she sees the red mark on Olivia's tiny wrist.

"Can you take her outside and call Brittany to come and get her, please?" Quinn asks her pleadingly.

"Quinn, what did..."

"Please, San, get her out of here. I'll be fine, I just need to talk to my mother," Quinn informs her in a scarily calm voice before disappearing back into the room. Olivia's terrified tears force Santana to let Quinn deal with Judy on her own and she hugs the shaking girl close to her chest.

"You're okay, pretty girl, I've got you," Santana murmurs soothingly as she slowly makes her way down to the front entrance of the hospital. "I've got you," she repeats, struggling to swallow the fury she feels towards the girl's, so called, mother. Olivia's sobs die down to sniffles and hiccups as Santana carries her outside, the fresh air informing the child that she's nowhere near her mother. She silently plays with Santana's long, jet black hair while the teenager calls Brittany, quickly explaining briefly and asking her to come get Olivia. Ending the phonecall, she slides her cell phone into her pocket and sits down on a nearby bench, Olivia on her lap. "Okay, pretty girl, Brittany's on her way. You want to tell me what happened?" Santana's tone is soft and soothing and Olivia nods nervously, Santana waiting patiently for her to speak.

"Mommy was mean," Olivia finally whispers. "I was trying to be nice to her but she was mean and called me a shell fish." Despite the circumstances, a smile tugs at the corners of Santana's full lips as she gazes adoringly at the four year old.

"She called you selfish?" Santana asks.

"Uh huh. I was only trying to chest her up, Quinn always talks about nice things when I'm sick. Birthdays are nice things," Olivia explains sadly.

"Well, you are definitely _not _selfish, sweetheart," Santana assures her. "You are the sweetest little girl I've ever met. I promise."

"Then she grabbed my wrist and yelled at me for trying to walk away and then she yelled at Quinn."

"I heard you telling your mommy not to yell at Quinn," Santana nods. "Is your wrist okay, sweet girl?" she asks in concern.

"Yeah, it only hurts a little bit now." Santana gently lifts Olivia's arm to properly inspect her wrist, glad to see that it is only a little bit red. It doesn't stop her from feeling angry though. Santana gently kisses the pinkened skin and rubs her fingers across it lightly.

"Better?" she asks.

"Yeah! Lots better," Olivia exclaims with an adorable grin, her nose wrinkling cutely. "You're much nicer than my mommy, Santana. I love you!"

"I love you too, pretty girl."

0-00-0

Quinn breathes heavily as she glares at her mother, hot, angry tears biting the corners of her eyes. She can't understand why her mother would do that. Sure, Judy is a terrible mother but Quinn had always chosen to believe that her mom, at the very least, had relatively good intentions. Intentions that got shoved out of the way by all the damn alcohol in her system, every damn day. But that? That was just plain mean and cruel. Why the hell would she ask to see Olivia just to purposely upset her? A decent human being would never act like that towards an innocent child, never mind a mother.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Quinn demands.

"I've already told you not to speak to me in that way, Quinn!" Judy scolds her.

"Why did you even want to see Olivia?"

"I wanted to see her because she is my child and I thought she'd care that I'm laying in a hospital bed! But no, all she cares about is her damn birthday," Judy states with a shake of her head.

"She's four, mom! Of course she's excited about her birthday and, for the record, she does care that you're in hospital...even if it is your own damn fault!" Quinn spits out, her features cold.

"My fault? It's neither mine or your father's fault that a stupid bitch cut us off," Judy says stubbornly.

"You were in the wrong lane! And do you know why you were in the wrong lane? Because you were both drunk! And that young girl that you say is a 'stupid bitch' died, mom! She died because of you and dad! At least pretend you have a heart!"

"Oh, I'm heartless now, am I?" Judy laughs dryly. "You're the one who is screaming at their mother while they're stuck in a hospital bed. If that's not heartless, then I don't know what is!" Judy snaps.

"I'm not heartless, mom. Not even close. If Olivia was as scared of me as she is of you, I would spend my every waking hour trying to change that opinion. You don't even care that she's scared you, in fact, I think you kinda enjoy," Quinn states with a sad shake of her head.

"She's only scared of me because you have turned her against me," Judy hisses. "You are a pathetic little girl, Quinn, you always have been. I should have given you away like a useless trinket when you were born," she remarks. "Just like you did with your own sinful brat." Quinn stares at her mother in a stunned, rage filled silence, her fists balled together by her sides.

"You are a cold, bitter bitch," Quinn states, her tone of of voice dangerously low. "You don't deserve to be a mother. I wish you had given us away because at least them you would have done one decent thing in your life," she says coldly. "You won't ever get to ruin Olivia like you almost ruined me. I will fight for custody...and I will win and then, you won't see either of us either again," Quinn informs her mother. "You are dead to me."

"You can't do this! I am your mother!" Judy screams and Quinn glances at her heart monitor as it starts to rapidly beep.

"You're not my mother, Judy. You're a bitter, closed off, evil woman who will forever be alone."

"You're suddenly brave now that your father isn't here to keep you in line with his belt," Judy chokes out, desperately gasping for air as the machines around her start to go crazy. Quinn is pushed to the side as doctors and nurses rush into the room, all of them immediately crowding around Judy.

"We need to get her to surgery. Right now!" Quinn hears one of the doctors say as she stares at the scene in front of her. Her face an empty canvas. Completely void of emotion as she watches her mother being frantically wheeled from the room.

_**To be continued... Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Thank you for reading. Please review.**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for the lovely reviews for the last chapter - they made my day!**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 17

Santana forces a smile to her face as she waves to Olivia while Brittany helps the four year old into the back of her car. Brittany shoots her a reassuring smile and a wave before climbing into the driver's seat. Santana sighs as the car drives away, realising that Olivia had been she and Quinn's ultimate distraction. Now they have to face the issues with Judy and Russell head on, without using Olivia to keep their minds off things and as an excuse to put the hard things off. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she trudges back into the hospital and along the hallways to the elevator, occasionally nodding in greeting to her father's co-workers. Santana impatiently waits for the elevator to arrive and eventually just decides to take the stairs. Her footsteps echo around the cool stairwell and she lets out a frustrated sigh as she climbs, this would be much easier if her parents hadn't just left town for a few days. Today had been the first time she had ever asked her father not to go and she hates how quickly he had shot her down. He didn't even entertain the idea of staying to support his daughter, not even for a second. Santana frowns as she reaches Judy's room and finds Quinn sitting outside with her head in her hands. Quickening her pace, she makes her way over to her girlfriend and kneels down in front of her, placing her hands on Quinn's knees.

"Babe, you okay?" Santana asks quietly, her features creasing in concern as she studies the other young woman.

"I think...I think I just killed my mom," Quinn whispers, her voice cracking painfully.

"What do you mean? Did...did your mom die?" Santana questions gently, taking Quinn's hands into her own, her thumbs rubbing soft circles onto pale, smooth skin.

"No," Quinn shakes her head, "she was taken into emergency surgery. We were arguing and I said some awful, awful things to her and she just...she was in pain and I thought she was dying," Quinn explains, her voice merely a whimper.

"Sweetheart, this isn't your fault," Santana states soothingly. And I bet she said some awful things to you too. You were just defending yourself and Olivia."

I just feel so guilty," Quinn chokes out, a strong sob almost swallowing her words.

"Oh, babe, please don't feel guilty," Santana murmurs, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "Your mom was in a major car crash, she must have had a lot of internal injuries. My guess is that she would have needed surgery anyway, babe. Please don't feel guilty, your mom has always been terrible to you guys and she was awful today, she needed to hear some home truths."

"I know...I just still feel so bad. I mean, she's my mom."

"I know, honey. Of course you're still gonna feel bad, that's the kind of person you are," Santana whispers softly, placing a gentle kiss to Quinn's temple. "But you don't have to go through any of this alone, I'm here for you and I always will be."

"But, what if she does die? And what if she dies today? It's Olivia's birthday. I don't want her growing up associating her birthday with our mom's death," Quinn says desperately.

"Calm down, sweetheart. We don't know that she's gonna die if she does, whether it's before or after midnight, we'll handle it," Santana tells her. "The main thing is that Olivia and you, and me. She's gonna grow up to be as amazing as you and no matter what happens with your parents, nothing will stop that."

0-00-0

Quinn sighs heavily as she stretches her legs out in front of her while sipping on the coffee that Santana had gone to get her. Her mom has been in surgery for almost six hours and, as guilty as it makes her feel, she relaxes slightly as the clock slowly inches closer and closer to midnight. She glances out of the open waiting room door at the almost emoty hallway, watching Santana as she leans against the wall beside the payphone. Quinn knows that Olivia will be fast asleep by now, but she still needed to know how she's doing and, as expected, Santana had instantly agreed to call Brittany when she asked her.

"Quinn." Quinn would be lying if she said she isn't surprised to see Puckerman walking towards her. It surprises her even more when she feels a surge of reassurance at the sight of him. As flaky as Puck could be, he is always there when it matters.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, wincing when her words come out much harsher than intended. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she murmurs. Noah shrugs it off and throws her a smile as he slumps down next to her, frowning slightly at how uncomfortable the chairs are.

"Santana's been keeping me updated on how your parents are doing, I figured you could use a little extra support," he mutters. "Seems like Satan in under the thumb," he adds with a smirk.

"Yeah," Quinn chuckles. "Under the thumb and firmly wrapped around Olivia's little finger." She smiles and they fall back into a comfortable silence. Quinn's smile gradually slides from her face, her features sobering once more. "Thanks for coming, Puck," she murmurs sincerely.

"Not a problem."

"Olivia's doing great," Santana states as she walks back into the waiting room. "Britt's sister kept her entertained and she crashed out a couple of hours ago. Britt sounds exhausted, they must have tired her out," Santana chuckles. "Hey, Puck."

"Santana," Noah nods in greeting, "thanks for calling."

"Sure. You doing okay, babe?" Santana questions as she sits down on Quinn's other side. They fall into silence once more, Quinn stealing a sip of santana's coffee after finishing her own and Noah smirks when Santana happily surrenders it. The three of them watch the clock, Quinn letting out a breath that she hadn't even realised she had been holding when the clock hits midnight. Time seems to pass extremely slowly and with each passing second Quinn's grip on Santana's hand grows tighter and tighter, her leg bouncing nervously while Noah dozes next to her, his snores filling the room. As the clock reaches one, Quinn lets out a loud sigh and jumps to her feet and begins pacing the room as Santana watches her warily. She knows Quinn well enough to just leave her be, all this waiting is driving her nuts so she can only imagine ho Quinn is feeling.

"Miss Fabray." Quinn freezes when an older woman says her name and she turns around to gaze at the grey haired woman dressed in green scrubs. Santana instantly gets to her feet and moves to stand next to her girlfriend as the surgeon walks further into the waiting room. "I'm doctor Garrison, I was the one operating on your mother. Why don't we have a seat?"

"No, I'm fine standing. Please just tell me," Quinn pleads. Doctor Garrison nods in understanding and she pulls her scrub cap off and clasps her hands in front of her stomach.

"Your mother had a great day of internal injuries, she was slowly bleeding out since the accident. It started out as a very small bleed which is why it was missed in the scans," the surgeon explains. "We worked on repairing the damage for several hours but, unfortunately, the damage was just too severe. I'm very sorry, Miss Fabray, your mother died during surgery," doctor Garrison states softly. Santana immediately wraps her arm around her girlfriend's waist, vaguely hearing Puck's soft curse as she watches Quinn carefully.

"Did," Quinn swallows, "did our argument...did I do this?" she ask quietly.

"No. This would have happened anyway, I'm afraid. The fact that someone was there with her when it happened at least gave her a fighting chance. I'll give you some time to yourselves, if you have any questions then please do not hesitate to have one of the nurses page me," the doctor informs her kindly, Quinn's only response being a stiff nod as she stares down at her feet with tear filled eyes.

"Thank you, doctor," Santana murmurs on behalf of her girlfriend. "Babe..."

"We need to tell Olivia," Quinn cuts her off.

"Maybe you should sit down for a little bit before we talk to Olivia," Santana suggests, unnerved by Quinn's suddenly cold demeanour. Quinn nods and swipes angrily at the tears that run down her face.

"I need to go for a walk," she suddenly states, pulling herself out of Santana's arms.

"Okay, I'll come with you."

"No! No, I'm sorry...I just...I need a few minutes," Quinn tells Santana weakly. "I'm sorry...just..." Santana watches helplessly as Quinn runs out of the room, Puck's arm on her shoulder stopping her from running after her.

"Give her a minute, San. She'll be okay, just give her a minute."

_**To be continued...the next chapter will be up tomorrow if you want it. Thanks for reading, please review.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**A/N **__**- Despite the daily updates, I've had a lot of complaints about the lengths of my chapters so, I'll make a deal with you guys. If this chapter gets 2O reviews by tomorrow night then I promise to make the next chapter at least 4 times longer than this one. :)**_

Chapter 18

Santana finds Quinn sitting on the same bench that she and Olivia had sat on earlier in the day. A large lump rises in her throat when she hears the pained wails erupt from her girlfriend's mouth and she rushes over to her, wrapping her arms around her shaking frame. Santana doesn't speak, she just holds her as she cries. She knows that, at this moment, there are no words that will make Quinn feel better. Quinn holds onto her desperately, Santana's shirt bunched in her hands. Why does it hurt so much? Why is she so upset about losing someone who made her life hell? Why does she love her so much? It's not as if her mother loved her or Olivia. There's no way she did. Right? They sit there for a long time, neither girl sure of how long they have been out here but both of them sure that it's been a couple of hours.

"Where's puck?"

"He went home, I told him there wouldn't be any reason for him to stay because I'm taking you back to my house to get some sleep," Santana states.

"What about Olivia?" Quinn asks instantly.

"Well, babe, it's almost," Santana checks her watch, "three am. I think it'd be beat to let her sleep and then we can pick her up, or get Noah to, in the morning," Santana murmurs reasonably. "Unless you want to get her now. We can drive there right now if you want to."

"No, you're right, it's best to let her sleep. She's gonna have a horrible day tomorrow, let her have a few more hours of being blissfully unaware," Quinn mumbles as she dries her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater. "I'm sorry I ran out like that, I didn't mean to worry you."

"You don't have to apologise for that, sweetheart. There's no right or wrong way to react in these situations," Santana tells her kindly. "I'm sorry about your mom."

"Me too."

"Do you want to go and see your dad?" Santana asks softly as she strokes Quinn's silky hair.

"I doubt they'd let me in at this time," Quinn shrugs.

"I could help you sneak in?" Santana offers with a sly grin, glad to see that it pulls a chuckle from her girlfriend.

"I love you for being willing to do that, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow. I think I just need to deal with things one at a time and it's gonna be so hard telling Olivia. She's so young and she's so forgiving towards my parents because she loves them so damn much, she's gonna be heartbroken," Quinn sighs.

"I'll help you tell her," Santana murmurs quietly.

"Really? You don't have to do that if you don't want to."

"I'll help you tell her," Santana repeats firmly.

0-00-0

Santana wakes up before Quinn does and she gently extracts herself from her girlfriend's grasp on her when she hears the sound of the tv playing downstairs. She frowns in confusion as she pulls a pair of sweatpants on, her mother must have come early...she and her father must have had a fight. Yawning, she quietly walks downstairs and heads straight to the kitchen, relieved to see a fresh pot of coffee sitting on the kitchen table.

"Good morning." Santana swallows a scream when she hears Puck's voice, turning to glare at the young man with as much venom as she can muster this early in the morning.

"Puckerman, what the fuck?!" Santana hisses, "I swear I almost swallowed my coffee mug!"

"Sorry," he chuckles. "We had the tv up loud so that you'd know someone was here."

"I thought it was my mom! Wait...we?"

"Yeah, Britt's here too. Her mom took Olivia to her childminder a couple of hours ago so we thought we'd.."

"Break into my house?" Santana cuts him off.

"We didn't break in, Britt still has a key," Noah shrugs, "we didn't want you guys to feel like you were having to handle this by yourselves."

"Because we're here for both of you," Brittany chimes in as she strolls into the kitchen, an empty bowl in her hand. Santana rolls her eyes as Brittany helps herself to more Lucky Charms. Until recently, Brittany had stayed at Santana's house so recently that she basically lived there, and that meant eating all of their food. It's comforting for Santana to know that, at least, some things never change.

"Well, I guess that's actually pretty sweet of you guys," Santana admits. "Thank you."

"No problem, Satan. Now, sit down because I am going to cook you the most greasy, fatty breakfast you have ever had and, once she's awake, I'll do the same for Quinn," Puck tells Santana. "So, sit!"

"I'm not a dog, Puckerman," Santana sighs, but doing as he says anyway. She is, after all, getting something out of it.

0-00-0

Quinn chews on her bottom lip as she watches Olivia skip up Santana's driveway, clearly excited to be back from her childminer for the day and completely oblivious to Puck's sober features as he follows behind her. Quinn hates that she has to do this, hates that she has to destroy her baby sister's life because their parents refused to stay sober long enough to drive a few blocks. She feels Santana's arms snake around her waist to rest on her stomach and she sinks back against her girlfriend's slim body.

"I'm right here," Santana whispers reassuringly into her ear.

"Hi!" Olivia exclaims as she bursts through the front door in a blaze of excited, endless energy.

"Hey, baby," Quinn murmurs, her smile strained and not reaching her eyes. "Brittany's in the kitchen and she's made you a snack, why don't you go get it," she suggests quietly.

"Kay!" Quinn watches sadly as Olivia sprints into the kitchen and she turns to Noah who is standing by the door.

"That was hard," he mutters, shaking his head. "Pretending tha everything is okay when it's not. Poor kid," he sighs. "I'll give you some time to yourselves, you want me to send Olivia through to you guys once she's finished eating?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Noah." Puck nods and gives his friends a small, sad smile before shuffling into the kitchen. "I hate this," Quinn whimpers as she walks into the livingroom, slumping down on the overstuffed sofa with an exhausted sigh.

"I'm sorry, baby girl," Santana murmurs, taking a seat nect to her girlfriend and wrapping a comforting arm around her waist. "What do you need?"

"Just hold me...please," Quinn whispers, her voice low and vulnerable.

"Of course." Santana pulls Quinn further into her arms and places a kiss to her temple, both of them cuddling silently as they wait for the moment they have been dreading to arrive. Santana wonders what this will mean. What will happen when Russell wakes up..if he wakes up. Will things just go back to the way they were before, minus Judy? Or will Quinn go ahead with her quest to gain custody of Olivia. Santana is desperate to know but she knows now is not the time to ask, not while Quinn has so much more to handle right now. They both look up as Olivia hurtles into the room, the girl throwing herself onto the sofa beside the two teenagers and grinning at them. Olivia's smile makes Quinn feel even worse, the little girl had obviously had a good day. Now she has to ruin it.

"Liv, come here," Quinn states quietly, seperating herself from Santana just enough to make room for Olivia on her lap.

"Are you gonna make me take a nap? I'm not sleepy, Quinny, promise!" Olivia pouts.

"I'm not gonna make you take a nap, honey, just come here," Quinn repeats gently, patting her thighs, relieved that Olivia doesn't argue and just climbs over Santana to perch on her big sister's lap. "Sweetheart, Santana and I have something to tell you," Quinn murmurs. "It's something sad and scary but I want you to know that both of us are right here and we're not going anywhere, okay?"

"Okay," Olivia says slowly, her chocolate brown eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

"Remember how I told you that mommy's accident in the car with daddy was very serious?" Quinn asks, fighting against the lump in her throat as her baby sister nods, her tiny features crinkling curiously. "Well, it turns out that mommy was a lot more hurt than we thought."

"Is she okay?" Olivia asks seriously, clearly over her sadness at Judy's actions the day before.

"No, sweetheart, she's not," Quinn whispers, her voice trembling. "Mommy had to go to heaven, baby girl. She's not in any pain anymore, she's with the angels."

"When is she coming back?" Quinn chokes back a sob at the question, feeling Santana's arm tighten around her waist in a reassuring squeeze. She looks at Santana desperately and the other teenager nods, instantly understanding what her girlfriend is asking her.

"I'm sorry, pretty girl, she's not coming back," Santana murmurs sadly, reaching forward to cup the girl's face, her heart breaking for her two blondes.

"Why? Did she die?"

"Yes, honey, she died. I'm so sorry," Santana whispers, her own tears sliding down her cheeks as she feels Quinn shake against her with silent sobs wracking her body. Olivia's eyes instantly fill with tears and she looks back and forth between Quinn and Santana, her face crumpling as fat tears roll down her little cheeks.

"But you promised," Olivia argues in a shaky voice. "You promised they'd be okay!"

"I know, pretty girl, I was wrong. I wish I wasn't and I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Santana swears to her. "C'mere," she murmurs, attempting to pull the tiny girl into her chest to comfort her.

"NO! You promised!" Olivia sobs. "You promised." Santana swears that her heart is splitting in half when Olivia begins to push her away, desperately shimmying her small body off of the couch.

"Liv.." Santana begins weakly, "C'mere, sweetheart."

"No! You lied! Olivia screams. "I hate you!" Santana watches in stunned horror as Olivia runs from the room, sprinting as fast as she can up the stairs and into her bedroom, the door slamming closed behind her and her heartbroken sobs echoing down the staircase.

_**To be continued.. Make sure you check out the A/N at the top of the page :)**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**A/N - I guess that was a 'no deal' then ;)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 19

Quinn sighs as she applies her make-up, staring at her reflection in the mirror in distain. The dark circles under her eyes stand out in stark contrast against her pale skin. She wishes she could just crawl back into bed and sleep until today is over. As much as she wants to do that, she knows she can't. Quinn knows that Olivia needs this, a chance to say goodbye; closure. Their mother's funeral is something that they have to attend, even if Judy doesn't deserve for them to be there. Putting her eyeliner down, she moves away from the mirror and pulls a black dress from her closet. Quinn slips it on and smooths it down with her hands, remembering the last time she wore it; her parents' anniversary party the year before. She guesses that the funeral and wake is going to be exactly like that party, only without her parents. She'll spend the day mingling and making small talk with people she barely knows, people exactly like her parents.

"Quinn, can I wear this?" Quinn turns around to see Olivia standing in the doorway, wearing a black dress that is decorated with white polka dots. "I don't want to wear the plain black one," Olivia adds quietly.

"Sure, baby girl. You look very beautiful in it," Quinn murmurs. "Who put your hair in plaits? Was it Santana?" she asks, not missing the scowl that crosses the four year old's features at the mention of Santana.

"No. Brittany did it," Olivia states. "She helped me pick my dress too," she adds, turning on her heel and stomping from the room. Quinn sighs softly, Olivia hasn't uttered one word to her beloved Santana in three days. Even though Santana had been staying with them after bringing them home a couple of hours after breaking the news to Olivia, the young girl had managed to completely avoid the teenager. Quinn hates seeing the look of pure heartache on Santana's face whenever Olivia ignores her. But, at the same time, she can tell that it's killing Olivia just as much as it's killing Santana. Quinn knows she should speak to Olivia about it but, she has no damn idea what to say. She hates this. So damn much.

"The car's here," Santana states as she walks into Quinn's bedroom, a knee length black dress hugging her figure and black high heeled pumps on her feet. Her long hair flows down her back and her light make-up barely hides the signs of exhaustion on her face.

"Okay, let's go," Quinn murmurs as she grabs her purse and checks her make-up in the mirror one last time.

"How are you doing, baby?" Santana asks her softly, taking her hand as they walk downstairs together.

"I've been better" Quinn shrugs. "I just want to get this over with, I need this day to be over."

"It'll be over soon, babe. It sounds like a cliche but, it gets better. It may not feel like it will but, it does."

0-00-0

Olivia jumps out of the black mercedes as soon as it rolls to a stop outside the church, Quinn just missing the girl as she attempts to grab onto her. Santana immediately follows Olivia out of the car, her hand automatically shooting out to catch the four year's hand, stopping her in her tracks and causing a huge scowl to cloud her features.

"You can't just run off, pretty girl," Santana tells her softly.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Olivia yells at the startled young woman, wrenching her hand out of Santana's grasp and running as fast as she can to the church where Brittany and Puck are waiting on the steps. Santana watches as sadly as Olivia all but throws herself into Brittany's arms, as though she needs some comfort after spending a car journey with Santana.

"Olivia!" Quinn shouts after her little sister, disapproval lacing her tone. "Sorry, I'll talk to her," she murmurs to her girlfriend.

"No, it's fine. She has every right to be mad at me, I'm mad at me too," Santana shrugs.

"She's allowed to be mad but she isn't allowed to be disrespectful to you. You're an adult and she should be listening to you," Quinn retorts. "I'll definitely be talking to her."

"Please wait until later?" Santana asks softly.

"Fine," Quinn sighs. "But, if she talks to you like that again, make sure you tell her off. Don't let her treat you like that," she tells her. Santana nods weakly and swallows the lump in her throat, she hates that Olivia is so upset with her and, even though she knows it's her own fault, she wishes that Olivia would just talk to her and like her again. She forces herself not to worry about it at the moment, she needs to support Quinn and, whether she likes it or not, Olivia too. Santana takes Quinn's hand and squeezes it reassuringly as they walk towards the church, Olivia purposely looking away when they reach the steps.

"You ready?" Puck questions quietly, receiving a nod from Quinn. Puck places a supportive hand on Santana's lower back as they walk inside, knowing just how much Olivia not talking to her is getting to her. For once, he doesn't even think about copping a feel. Quinn screws on her brave face as they walk down between the rows of pews, feeling every set of eyes in the room focusing on her. She feels Santana's hand tighten around hers and a rush of gratitude flow through her at her girlfriend and her strong presence. Quinn notices Mr Schue sitting a few rows from the front, Sue Sylvester seated next to him. The two teachers rise to their feet as the small group of teenagers, and Olivia, reach them. No words are exchanged, just hugs and supportive squuezes, Quinn giving them both a grateful smile before making her way to the front row.

"It's cool of them to come," Santana whispers.

"Yeah, it is." Olivia settles next to Quinn as she sits down, leaning into her big sister's side and staring into space with wide, watery eyes. Santana doesn't say anything as she sits down on Quinn's other side, merely placing her warm hand on her girlfriend's thigh in a show of support. None of them speak as more people slowly filter into the church, most of them seeking eye contact from Quinn but not receiving any. Quinn expects her gaze to start blurring with the tears that she doesn't want to shed, but no tears come. Her eyes remain achingly dry as the priest begins to speak. Even as she feels Olivia's tiny body shake with quiet, devastated tears, her eyes stay tear free. Quinn pulls Olivia onto her lap and holds her close to her chest, rubbing her back soothingly. She can feel judgemental stares boring into the back of her head as one of her mother's friends moves to the front to say a few words about Judy Fabray. Quinn had opted out of writing and reading a eulogy for her mother. She came, that's enough.

0-00-0

Quinn forces a polite smile to her face as yet another stepford wife offers her sympathy. The empty platitudes that Quinn has been bombarded with in the last couple of hours are slowly driving her insane. She's thankful that Santana, Brittany and Puck have stuck around to help with the wake, Quinn doubts she's be able to handle it on her own. She hasn't seen Olivia or Santana for a while and she hopes that it's because Olivia has forgiven Santana and they're hanging out. Politely excusing herself from a strained conversation with a man she hasn't even met before, she heads into the kitchen to find Olivia standing with her nose in the only empty corner. It's not Santana that is supervising her though, it's Brittany. The usually bubbly blonde is leaning against the counter with her arms folded across her chest and a disappointed frown on her face.

"What happened?"

"Santana asked her to stop pushing her. Like, literally pushing her whenever Santana stood too close to her," Brittany states sadly. "San got a little overwhelmed so I stepped in," she whispers. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," Quinn replies. "Thanks for handling it. Where did Santana go?"

"I think she went outside, she was heading towards the front door," Brittany tells her quietly. "Go, I've got Olivia."

"Thanks, Britt." Quinn makes her way quickly to the front door, keeping her head and eyes down so that nobody can catch her gaze and stop her for another meaningless chat. She finds Santana sitting on the doorstep and she slumps down next to her.

"She really hates me, Quinn," Santana murmurs.

"No..she doesn't hate you. She's just mad, I'll make sure she definitely knows that it's not okay for her to treat anybody like this; especially an adult," Quinn mumbles.

"I need to go get some clothes, I've run out of things to wear here," Santana states as she stands up. "I'll be back soon."

"Actually, San, maybe you should sleep at home tonight," Quinn mutters, shocking her girlfriend.

"Oh."

"Yeah, it's been a hard day and I need to deal with some stuff with Olivia and...we need some time alone," Quinn explains. "I'll call you when we're up for company," she adds, standing up and pecking Santana's cheek before heading inside. Santana watches in disbelief and sadness, wondering why she's just been brushed off by her girlfriend...brushed off like most of the strangers inside. She realises now just how big of a mistake she made by making promises to Olivia that she couldn't keep.

_**To be continued...next chapter will be up tomorrow if you want it.**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**A/N - Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. There are two more chapters to go after this one and then it's done. Hope you guys stick around til the end.**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 20

Olivia pouts as Quinn helps her change into a pair of pajamas, it's not fair that she has to go to bed while it's still light out. It's night her fault that stupid Santana kept coming into the kitchen, of course she pushed her...what else was she supposed to do?! The four year old stomps angrily into the bathroom when Quinn sends her to brush her teeth. Why would she want to brush her teeth when she's mad?! Quinn sighs as she turns on Olivia's night light and pulls the curtains closed before sitting down on the edge of the small bed to wait for Olivia to come back from the bathroom.

"I don't want to go to bed yet," Olivia grumbles as she walks back into her bedroom, stopping to stand in front of Quinn with her arms stubbornly crossed across her chest. "It's early and I'm not tired," she adds loudly.

"Olivia, you're going to bed," Quinn states firmly. "Look, I know today has been a very sad day but you were naughty so you're being punished, I'd be a bad big sister if I let you away with being so rude to Santana. You wouldn't want me to be a bad big sister, would you?"

"No," Olivia mumbles begrudgingly.

"C'mom, get into bed, 'Liv," Quinn murmurs, standing up and pulling the blankets back, smiling slightly when Olivia climbs into bed with no further arguing. "Good girl." Quinn sits back down on the edge of the bed and gazes down at her tiny sister. "Sometimes, people make mistakes, baby girl. Santana made a mistake by promising you that mommy would be okay. I know you're really sad and mad right now but she was just trying to make you feel better," Quinn explains softly. "Santana hates it when you're sad just as much as I do."

"But now I'm extra sad," Olivia whispers. "And mad. Santana made me mad and sad," she adds and Quinn sighs softly.

"Remember when you lied about not stealing from the cookie jar?" Quinn asks her.

"Uh huh." Olivia watches Quinn curiously, wondering if she's about to be told off for that again.

"Well, once you said sorry I forgave you because you made a mistake and you swore you'd never do it again. Now, I know Santana's mistake really upset you but she doesn't have any other young kids in her life so she doesn't always know exactly what to do but I know that she's been trying so hard to help look after you. I also know that you don't want to stop being friends with her because of one mistake, do you?"

"No," Olivia murmurs. "I don't hate her, I was just really upset. I love Santana."

"I know, baby girl. So, why don't we call Santana so that you can say goodnight to her and tell her you love her," Quinn suggests.

"Would mommy have died if Santana hadn't made a promise?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, she would have," Quinn tells her gently, realising now just how confused Olivia is about the whole thing and understanding why she was so upset with Santana. She had thought Santana's mistake killed their mom. "Babe, mommy died because she and daddy weren't careful when they were driving."

"So it was their fault?"

"Yeah," Quinn sighs, "it's very sad that mommy died but it wasn't Santana or the doctor's fault."

"What about daddy? Is he going to be okay?" Olivia asks innocently.

"I don't know," Quinn replies honestly. "He might not be, sweetheart."

"I know mommy and daddy were mean but I still love them," Olivia whispers.

"Me too, 'Liv."

"Can we call Santana now?" Olivia questions, suddenly desperate to speak to the teenager now that she understands what happened.

"We sure can."

0-00-0

Santana groans as she wakes up, her head throbbing and her mouth as dry as the Sahara. She regrets drowning her sorrows with her mother's expensive wine when she sits up and the whole room spins, her stomach churning. Running to the bathroom, she drops to her knees and empties her stomach into the toilet. Once she's sure that she's done, Santana trudges downstairs and switches the coffee machine on, chugging down a full bottle of water while she waits. Her cellphone chimes from it's place on the kitchen table, where she had abandoned it the night before. There's a few texts from Brittany and Puck, both of them promising that Olivia will come around and offering to come over. It is, however, her missed calls log that she's most interested in. Three from Quinn and one voice mail. Curiously, she calls it and smiles when she hears Olivia asking Quinn if she should talk to the cellphone robot.

_"Hi, Santana, it's Olivia. I'm really sorry for being so mean to you, I feel real bad for pushing you and I'm sorry I said I hated you. I don't hate you, I love you! I gotta go 'cause Quinn says I have to go to bed. Goodnight, Santana, love you!" _

Santana grins and swipes at the tears that leak from her eyes, relief oozing from her pores. She's so thankful that Olivia is speaking to her again, it hurt so much to have problems with one of her two favourite people.

"_Hey, babe, it's me_," Quinn's voice floats into Santana's ear. "_I'm sorry that I made you stay at home instead of here, I just wanted to explain everything to Olivia without you overhearing. I knew it would upset you if Olivia still wasn't speaking to you after you had heard me explain it to her. I'm sorry if I upset you, give me a call when you get this. Love you, babe."_

Santana instantly relaxes when she hears Quinn's explanation, knowing it wasn't something she had done is a huge weight off of her shoulders. She forgets all about her coffee and heads back upstairs, quickly showering and dressing. Santana calls a cab as she doesn't think her blood alcohol levels will be low enough for her to drive just yet. She's ashamed to admit that, in the past, she'd happily have jumped into her car and driven. Now, however, she has seen exactly what happens when drunk people get behind the wheel of a car. She'd never want to cause anyone the kind of pain that Judy and Russell had caused that young woman's family, and also their own. The cab driver smells funky and he talks way too much for Santana's liking but, she doesn't care as much as she normally would. She's just so happy that both of her blondes are speaking to her.

"Keep the change," Santana tells the cab driver as she pretty much throws twenty bucks at him before hopping out of the cab and making her way up the driveway. She raps her knuckles against the heavy door. Quinn opens the door and has a split second to breathe before Santana's full lips are attached to hers in a passionate kiss.

"Wow..." Quinn breathes. "Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?"

"I thought I had done something wrong," Santana murmurs with a shrug.

"Oh, babe, I'm so sorry! I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm so sorry, I totally handled this wrong." Quinn murmurs.

"Nah, you didn't...Olivia is speaking to me again so you obviously handled it perfectly," Santana reassures her.

"But I upset you and, by the fact that you got a cab here, I can tell you must have had a lot to drink last night."

"Babe, it's fine. We're good, all of us are," Santana smiles. "Where's 'Liv?"

"She's still asleep, why don't you go wake her up while I make some coffee? She really wants to speak to you." Quinn states softly.

"Alright," Santana nods, kissing Quinn's cheek before making her way upstairs. She smiles as she enters Olivia's bedrrom, the only visible part of the child is the tiny foot that sticks out from underneath the duvet. "Wake up, pretty girl," Santana coos as she sits on the edge of the girl's bed and pulls the duvet down from her face.

"Santana?" Olivia asks sleepily as she struggles to sit up, her blonde hair a complete mess.

"Yeah, sleepy head, it's me," Santana smiles kindly. She watches in concern as Olivia bursts into tears, throwing her tiny body into Santana's arms. "Hey, hey, what's wrong, pretty girl?"

"I was really mean to you," Olivia sobs into her chest. "I don't hate you, I don't, I promise!"

"It's okay, I know, I know. I'm sorry I made a promise that I couldn't keep," Santana murmurs.

"It's okay, Quinn said you were just trying to make me feel better 'cause you don't like it when I'm sad," Olivia sniffles.

"That's right, I don't like it when you're sad, so stop crying...I forgive you and you forgive me, right?"

"Uh huh," Olivia nods, "I love you lots, Santana."

"I love you too, pretty girl."

0-00-0

Quinn sighs softly as they step into the elevator glad that, for once, it isn't crowded but completely empty apart from them. She glances across at Santana, the young woman holding Olivia in her arms and the child had her head laid on her shoulder. Olivia had been glued to Santana's side since she came over this morning, as if trying to show Santana how much she loves her by giving her constant hugs and affection. Hugs and affection that Santana is only too happy to return. After a discussion between the three of them, they had decided to come to the hospital to see Russell, for one time only; allowing Olivia a chance to understand what is going on.

"Is daddy still gonna be asleep?" Quinn hears Olivia ask Santana quietly, her voice nervous.

"Yeah, pretty girl." The elevator doors slide open at the floor they need and Quinn leads the other two down the corridor to Russell's room, stopping outside of it. She smiles at Santana as her girlfriend places Olivia back on her feet, the girl instantly taking hold of Santana's hand/

"Okay, babe," Quinn begins, kneeling down to her little sister's level, "remember what I told you in the car?"

"That the doctors don't think daddy will wake up, but there's a small chance that he might," Olivia recites what Quinn had told her.

"Do you know what that means, sweetheart?" Quinn pushes in a gentle tone.

"That daddy will probabl go away like mommy did," Olivia says quietly, "so I have to say goodbye to him just in case."

"That's right," Quinn nods. "Santana and I will be in there with you, and if you want to leave then you tell us straight away, okay?"

"Okay," Olivia whispers.

"Good girl," Quinn murmurs, leaning forward to kiss her baby sister's cheek. She straightens back up and takes Olivia's other hand into hers as she reaches forward to open the door of her father's room. Quinn leads them inside, her gaze immediately landing on Russell's eerily still, calm form. Olivia doesn't speak, or even move, for the first ten minutes that they're in the room, only staring warily at her daddy. Neither Quinn or Santana urge her to move, merely holding her hands and giving her the time she needs. Eventually, Olivia takes a tentative step forward and drops Quinn and Santana's hands as they watch her carefully. They both stay where they are as Olivia slowly edges closer to the bed, stopping beside it and silently gazing at her father. She stands there for several minutes before working up the courage to climb up onto the bed, perching on the edge of it and touching Russell's hand with her small, pudgy one.

"Quinn says you might not wake up," Olivia murmurs. "If you do wake up then you gotta be nicer, 'cause mommy died and we need you to stop being bad to us...especially Quinn."

"Oh my god," Quinn whispers, feeling touched and an overwhelming rush of sadness, that she doesn't want to feel, at the same time.

"I'm here," Santana murmurs gently, taking her girlfriend's hand into hers and squeezing reassuringly.

"If you don't wake up then I hope you get to go and stay with the angels and that you're not mean to them. The angels won't let you stay if you're mean to them," Olivia tells him sincerely. She leans forward and kisses his cheek, "goodbye, daddy."

Olivia shimmies to the edge of the bed and jumps down, walking over to Quinn and taking her hand. "I would like to leave now," she states simply. Santana turns to gaze questioningly at Quinn, silently asking her if she needs some time alone with Russell.

"Let's go," Quinn says with a shake of her head, ushering Olivia out of the door, turning to look at her father one last time before closing the door.

_**To be continued... Reviews are extremely motivating and greatly appreciated. Next chapter will be up tomorrow.**_


	21. Chapter 21

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter - I appreciate them very much! One more chapter after this!**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 21

_3 weeks later_

Santana barely manages to hold back a frustrated groan as she listens to Mr Schue butcher the spanish language. Seriously, how did he even get this job? Sure, he's an awesome teacher for glee club but he really is disturbingly awful at spanish. Santana, for once, doesn't mind when Rachel's irritating voice interrupts the teacher to correct him. She actually agrees with the annoying hobbit; not that she'd ever admit that out loud. Rachel even asks her to back her up when Mr Schue is convinced he isn't wrong but Santana just shrugs and continues to file her nails.

"Sir, Principal Figgins would like to see Santana Lopez," a pimply freshman states from the doorway and Santana has to swallow the relieved and thrilled cheer that threatens to erupt from her throat.

"Santana, you heard him," Schue sighs, waiting until the teenager has left the room before continuing. Santana can hear his awful spanish blissfully fading away as she walks down the hallway, almost bumping into Quinn.

"Hey, babe," Santana grins, pecking her girlfriend on the lips.

"Hey yourself," Quinn smiles, "and you're totally welcome," she adds with a sly grin.

"For what?"

"Figgins doesn't want to see you, I do," Quinn says quietly. "We may not be cheerios anymore but the freshman are still scared of me, they'll do anything I tell them to."

"Babe, you're a genius!" Santana chuckles. "So, what? You wanna go make out in a closet?"

"No, well I do, but that's not why I got you out of class," Quinn states. "It's been thirty days."

"Oh," Santana murmurs. "Are you okay? Do you want to go to the hospital?" she asks softly.

"I'm actually okay, I feel sorta relieved, you know? I'm just glad that I get to tell Olivia that it's over and then get on with our lives. I know that sounds awful but he was an evil man and if he had survived then he would fight tooth and nail for custody of 'Liv just to spite me," Quinn explains.

"It doesn't sound awful, he was a terrible person and he killed himself the minute he got into that car drunk. At least now you know that Olivia is always going to be looked after properly, she has us," Santana murmurs.

"Yeah.. she has us," Quinn repeats her girlfriend's words, a soft smile playing on her lips. She takes Santana's hand into hers and leads her down the hallway, towards the boys' locker room. Santana shoots Quinn a curious look as she is pulled into the disgusting smelling room.

"I thought you didn't want to make out," Santana says. "Why would you want to do it in here anyway? It smells like ass!" she exclaims, using her free hand to pinch her nostrils closed. "Oh, ew. Quinn, I swear I can taste it...it's like it's on me," Santana whines.

"We're not in here to make out," Quinn replies, rolling her hazel eyes at her girlfriend's dramatic behaviour. "The alarm on the fire escape in here is broken," she explains.

"We're busting out of here? Awesome!"

"No...we're walking out of here," Quinn retorts. "I need to not think about Russell right now and sitting in school bored out of my mind is gonna make me think about him. So, we're gonna get Olivia and then we'll have lunch at Breadstix and we'll go to the park or something," Quinn states.

"Sounds good to me, babe."

0-00-0

Santana grins as she reaches across the table to wipe spaghetti sauce from Olivia's nose with the pad of her thumb, rolling her eyes at the state of the child's white t'shirt. Quinn smiles as she watches her sister and girlfriend interact. To her, it's beautiful. Seeing the two people she loves the most in the world love each other, and so fiercely, warms her heart. She's happily spend the whole day just watching them, chuckling at their silly jokes and smiling fondly while choking back overjoyed tears whenever they hug. If someone had told her a year ago that Santana Lopez would be the one to steal her heart, and she hers, she would have laughed. If they had told her that Santana would be an amazing mother figure, she'd have laughed harder. Her cell phone rings and she reluctantly pulls herself from her thoughts to answer it. The voice on the other end tells her what she has been waiting all morning, hell...all month, to hear. It surprises her when a lump rises in her throat, it surprises her more when it's relieved tears that she has to fight off, not sad ones. Quinn mumbles a response and hangs up, taking a few seconds to steady her breathing before turning to face Santana.

"Turned off," she states simply. "Now we just need to wait for the call," Quinn adds vaguely, for Olivia's sake. Olivia doesn't need to know that their father's life support machines have been turned off, doesn't need to know that they're now waiting for him to die. It's going to suck enough to tell the four year that their father has died, it would be too much for her young mind to take in if she told her about life support machines.

"You okay?" Santana asks Quinn in a whisper, glad that Olivia is too preoccupied with twirling her spaghetti to notice the change in atmosphere.

"I will be." Santana nods at the response, gently squeezing her girlfriend's hand in support. By the time they leave Breadstix, it's already after one and they head to the park in a bid to keep themselves distracted from the fact that, right now, Russell Fabray is dying.

"Santana! Look! I can swing really high!" Olivia shouts from the swings, Santana and Quinn watching her from the nearby bench.

"That's awesome, pretty girl. You're really good at that!" Santana yells back to her, sending her the thumbs up.

"Be careful!" Quinn calls out and, even though she isn't close enough to see it, knows that Olivia has just rolled her eyes; totally Santana's fault.

"I'll always be here," Santana murmurs and Quinn turns her head to gaze at her, her eyes gentle. "I know I have a terrible track record and I know that not everybody would trust me to look out for a little kid but, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," she states sincerely. "Even if, god forbid, we ever break up I'll be here."

"I know and it makes me love you even more," Quinn tells her softly. "I don't think we'll ever break up because I don't think I could live without you now. I adore you, Santana. Olivia does too."

"I love you too. Both of you. So much. I just wanted you to know that none of this is scaring me off, I'm in this for life," Santana informs her with a soft smile.

"I am too. This..well, it's the start of a better life." Quinn jumps in surprise when her cell phone blares out in the silent park and she glances down at the screen, recognising the number as the same one that had called while they were in Breadstix. The hospital. "The start of a better life," she repeats before accepting the call and placing the phone to her ear.

_**To be continued... The last chapter will be up late tomorrow night. Please review.**_


	22. Chapter 22

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**A/N - Welcome to the last chapter! Thank you to everyone for reading this story and placing it on alert. Also, a special thank you to everyone who left feedback in the form of reviews and tumblr asks, they motivated me so much and I appreciate them more than you know! Enjoy the last chapter.**_

_**R&R please. There is a time jump in the middle of the chapter.**_

Chapter 22

Quinn gazes down at her lap, her eyes landing on the small box clutched in her hands. It's strange to think that this is what it comes down to. A life long relationship, eighteen years of bad memories, a twenty five years long marriage and this is all that's left. A small box of ashes. That's all that is left of her father. Sadness that she expects to hit her; doesn't. All she feels is a strong sense of relief. She doesn't have to arrive home from school worrying about kind of mood he is in and what he's going to do or say to her. Olivia will no longer be sent to bed in tears just because she can't eat all of her dinner, even when the portion of food was much too big for her in the first place. Quinn won't have to fight to keep Olivia, won't have to worry that leaving bruises on her won't be enough for Russell and one day, he'll turn on Olivia. No. From this day on, Olivia will be under only her and Santana's care. As much as Santana is nervous about having so much responsibility, Quinn loves and trusts her implicitly. She has told her that already and she plans to remind her every day; every single day. Quinn can't wait until they start their senior year, then they can finish and Quinn can completely focus her energy on raising Olivia. Olivia deserves to be loved and looked after with everything in a person's body. It makes Quinn's heart soar that she can do that for her, both she and Santana can. No more feeling unwanted and in the way. No more walking on eggshells.

"Are you okay, babe?" Santana asks softly, taking her eyes off the road just long enough to glance at her silent girlfriend. "You've been pretty quiet since we left the crematorium," she adds gently, removing one hand from the steering wheel so she can place it on Quinn's thigh.

"Yeah, babe, I'm fine. I was just thinking," Quinn smiles. "Hey, can you take a left up here, I need to go to the golf club."

"The golf club? It's getting pretty dark, I didn't know you liked to play golf," Santana frowns in confusion. Her brow furrows even further when Quinn chuckles softly at her.

"I'm gonna scatter his ashes there, it's pretty much the only place that brought out a smile in him," Quinn murmurs. "It needs to be dark anyway, I doubt the staff would appreciate me pouring my father's ashes all over the green," she explains.

"So, you're gonna sneak in?" Santana questions, a small smirk pulling at her full lips.

"Yeah. You want to come with me? It could be fun and I figure I may as well have one night with my father that I actually enjoy," Quinn shrugs.

"That actually makes sense," Santana nods, "and yeah, I'll come with you. You don't need to make thing sound fun before asking me to go with you," she murmurs. "I'll go anywhere that you ask me to, I don't need somewhere to be fun before I agree to support you," Santana adds. "I get to spend time with you, fun is just a bonus."

0-00-0

Santana cautiously glances around her as she chews on her thumbnail. She slowly edges towards the tall fence, glancing around the dark street again. She can hear Quinn giggling at her and Santana glares into the darkness on the other side of the fence.

"Santana Lopez, the badass, is too scared to climb over a fence," Quinn chuckles. " I can _not _wait to tell Olivia that you are actually a giant chicken. Although, you are clearly not a free range chicken considering you're stuck behind a fence," she adds, clearly amused at her own, very lame, joke.

"Oh, really?" Santana drawls out, "you're gonna tell your four year old, highly impressionable little sister that we broke into a golf club after dark. And in doing that, we climbed a _dangerously_ high fence. Really, you're gonna tell her that?" she asks in amusement.

"Shut up and get over here," Quinn grumbles, no longer finding it amusing. She hears Santana sigh and can make out the tell-tale metallic rattling of the other teenager climbing over the fence. Quinn suddenly finds it amusing again and almost bites through her lip while attempting to not laugh when she hears the muted thud of Santana landing on this side of the fence, an extremely unladylike grunt reachin her ears a second later. She moves forward helps Santana to her feet, her grin finally fighting it's way to her lips. "Finally, San, what took you so long?" Quinn asks around her laugh. The only response she receives from Santana is a steely glare and breathless muttering about never putting out for her again. Ever.

"Where do you want to spread them?" Santana asks, ignoring Quinn's quiet laughter. She's thankful that it's so dark as she's sure that she's blushing furiously. Way to embarrass yourself, Lopez.

"I can think of a few places, I hope there's no security guards around," Quinn murmurs, picking the box, that contains the remains of her father, up off the ground.

"Security guards? Quinn, if we get arrested I'll..."

"You'll what? Sulk?" Quinn smirks.

"You act like I'm whipped," Santana scoffs. Quinn doesn't respond. "Wait, you think I'm whipped?!"

"Of course not, baby. You're not whipped at all," Quinn placates her girlfriend. Santana eyes her suspiciously but doesn't say anything. She's not whipped, is she?

"I'm badass," Santana eventually grumbles.

"Of course you are."

"Badasses aren't whipped," Santana adds sulkily.

"Exactly." Santana doesn't think that Quinn sounds very sincere but she doesn't push it, she's not sure she really wants to know the answer. They fall into silence as they walk across the golf course, Santana being extra careful not to trip on one of the holes or something. Her dignity has taken a big enough beating today already. She stops walking when Quinn does and she's surprised to realise that they're standing in front of a pond, how had she not noticed that?

"Here?"

"Yeah," Quinn nods, "he was happy here and, despite everything, I want him to be somewhere that he likes."

"You're amazing, you know that?" Santana is in awe of her girlfriend, she doubts she'd be so gracious towards Russell if it had been her decision to make.

"I could say the same to you," Quinn remarks. She opens the box and gazes into it for a few moments, her features sober. Santana places her hand on Quinn's lower back as she carefully tips her father's ashes into the pond. "I hope you can be happier now, dad," Quinn whispers. "You might believe it, but I still loved you. Goodbye, daddy."

0-00-0

_2 weeks before the beginning of senior year._

The first thing Santana hears when she wakes up is an adorable giggle and the creak of Quinn's bedroom door. She keeps her eyes closed as the sneaky giggling gets closer and closer, waiting until she is sure that Olivia is right beside the bed before lunging upwards and grabbing the girl around the waist. Olivia squeals in surprise as she is hauled under duvet, relaxing into Santana's arms a few seconds later, her hair tickling the teenager's chin as she snuggles closer to her. Santana doesn't know what time it is but she knows it must be pretty late as Olivia is dressed and Quinn isn't in bed with her.

"Quinn said you need to get your lazy butt out of bed and stop sleeping the weekend away!" Olivia tells Santana seriously, causing her to raise her eyebrows in surprise..her butt isn't lazy.

"What time is it, pretty girl"? Santana asks her.

"I don't know, Quinn didn't tell me," Olivia responds with a shrug.

"Well, what time does it say on the clock beside the bed?" Santana questions, keeping her eyes firmly squeezed shut.

"I don't know. I can't tell time yet, I'm only four, Santana!" Santana chuckles lightly and pokes Olivia in the ribs, eliciting another adorable giggle from her. Santana groggily lifts her head and glances at the clock, shocked to see that it's after four in the afternoon. Wow, maybe her but _is_ lazy.

"Alright, pretty girl, I'm getting up. Why don't you go ask Quinn to make me some coffee and I'll be downstairs soon."

"Okay, but don't take too long! We're having a movie night!" Olivia exclaims as she scrambles off of the bed and hurtles from the room. Santana lays in bed for a moment, trying her best to wake up properly, listening as Quinn tells Olivia off for running in the house. One day, that girl will learn. Maybe. She pushes herself out of bed and stumbles into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth before heading back into Quinn's bedroom to get dressed. When she eventually gets downstairs she finds Olivia bouncing on the sofa while Quinn tries to grab her.

"Olivia, get down! I've already told you three times, I am NOT playing around," Quinn scolds, lunging forward and attempting to grab the bouncing girl again and failing miserably. Santana quickly walks around to the back of the couch and scoops Olivia into her arms before walking with her to the corner. Olivia pouts as Santana places her in the corner.

"Four minutes, 'Liv. When Quinn tells you to do something, you do it. You're in time out for ignoring her," Santana explains before walking back over to Quinn. "Was that okat?" she asks nervously, suddenly unsure of herself. Quinn smiles and nods, pulling her girlfriend into a searing kiss.

"That was _definitely_ okay," Quinn murmurs. "Thank you. She has been a nightmare all damn day."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep all day," Santana states apologetically.

"It's okay, babe. You were up most of the night helping Britt, I didn't expect you to be awake at dawn," Quinn shrugs. "There's fresh coffee in the kitchen," she adds, taking Santana's hand and leading her into the other room. "I ordered pizza and Olivia and I went out and bought a ton of unhealthy crap for movie night."

"Olivia mentioned we were having one," Santana nods.

"She's been pretty excited about it," Quinn smiles, "plus I think the time out will calm her down."

"At least now she knows she can't screw around and get away with crap with me now," Santana chuckles, accepting a mug of coffee from her girlfriend.

"Now there's a whole two people in the world that she'll listen to," Quinn jokes.

"At least sometimes," Santana laughs, placing her coffee on the counter and pulling her girlfriend into her arms. "We'll tag team her though and it'll be fine," she murmurs before placing a gentle kiss to Quinn's lips, her tongue sneaking inside her girlfriend's warm, wet mouth. Their tongues dance together in an intricate, well practised dance and they sweetly and slowly kiss until the emergent need for oxygen forces them to break apart. "Shall we go check on the little troublemaker now?" Santana asks with a dazed smile.

"Sure." Santana picks her coffee back up and she and Quinn wander back into the livingroom where Olivia is still obediently standing in the corner, although she is beginning to fidget a little. It doesn't take long for the apologies to come and for the pizza to arrive. Santana can't help the grin that takes over her face as Olivia snuggles close to her on the sofa while Quinn places pizza and lots of sugary goodness on the coffee table in front of them. She doesn't really pay attention to the animated movie that is playing on the tv as Quinn settles on her other side, both blondes laying their heads on her shoulders. Sure, they've been through loads of crap recently but they've managed to come so far that Santana can only feel pride when she thinks about it.

"We're gonna be okay, right?" Quinn asks in a whisper.

"Yeah, babe, we're gonna be great," Santana murmurs as Olivia turns to glare at them.

"Shh, the lion is singing!"

_**-Fin-**_

_**Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think of the last chapter.**_


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